Every baseball fan loves a good underdog story, and a heartwarming one just took place this week when former Philadelphia Phillies prospect Josh Hendrickson made his major league debut with the Houston Astros. The 29-year-old has been through a lot, making it even sweeter to see him finally reach the mountaintop.
The Phillies drafted Hendrickson out of the University of San Diego in the 38th round back in 2019 and agreed to terms on a signing bonus of just $75,000. To say the Australian wasn’t a highly-regarded prospect would be a massive understatement.
Hendrickson would go on to spend five years (but only four seasons due to the 2020 minor league campaign being wiped out by COVID-19) in the Phillies’ system, topping out with a pair of brief stints with Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2021 and 2023. His 2024 season was completely scuttled due to Tommy John surgery, but he got back on the horse the following year with a solid 3.61 ERA across 19 starts for the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association.
This past winter he returned home to compete in the Australian Baseball League, a high-quality winter league which the Phillies routinely send prospects to for more seasoning. In three outings for the eventual-champion Adelaide Giants, Hendrickson fired 16 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with 21 punchouts. He also found time to suit up for his home country in the most recent World Baseball Classic (alongside Phillies farmhand Mitch Neunborn), wherein he tossed three innings of one-run ball in Australia’s 5-1 victory over Czechia.
Ex-Phillies prospect Josh Hendrickson has made the most of his second chance
That fantastic winter earned Hendrickson another opportunity in affiliated ball, this time with the Houston Astros. The southpaw spent the entirety of his minor league season with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys, working to a 4.75 ERA over 113 ⅔ frames.
Houston has dealt with a multitude of pitching injuries this season, evidenced by the fact that just two pitchers on their entire team have eclipsed the 100-inning mark this year (and those two just barely). Contrast that with the Phillies, who have five such hurlers - including Cristopher Sánchez, who just reached 200 on the nose. Additionally, the Astros have five pitchers on the Injured List currently, creating a need for some fresh arms.
Josh Hendrickson was just the man to fill that role leading the club to give him a long-awaited call-up to the big leagues on Wednesday, just five days after his 29th birthday. That promotion made him the 41st Australian player in MLB history, and the fourth Aussie to play in a game this year, the most in a decade.
With the Josh Hendrickson call-up, there are four Australians who have played Major League Baseball in 2026 (Hendo, Bazzana, Mead, Bidois).
— Eric Balnar (@EBalnar) September 24, 2026
That's the most since 2016 (Peter Moylan, Liam Hendriks, Warwick Saupold and James Beresford)
Hendrickson was able to make his major league debut later that night in Seattle against the division-rival Mariners. He performed yeoman’s work in two innings, surrendering just one run and collecting three strikeouts on 31 pitches. Unfortunately for Hendrickson and the Astros, Seattle would go on to squeak out a walk-off victory in extra innings.
Josh Hendrickson’s winding road to the majors may not have much impact on the Phillies’ fortunes this season, but it is a classic feel-good story for any fan of the sport. Plus, it’s always nice to see a former Phils prospect make good on his talent, even if it is somewhere else.
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