For the second time this season, the Orioles are calling up the top prospect in all of baseball. First, it was catcher Adley Rutschman, who had been atop the list basically since being drafted in 2019. This time, it’s infielder Gunnar Henderson, who, unlike Adley, was not immediately highly-touted, but who has instead shot up the prospect rankings here over the last few months.
Unforgettable moments 🧡 pic.twitter.com/TxcCbf5XY6
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 31, 2022
Depending on where you look, the 21-year-old Henderson is either the number one or number two prospect in MLB, after lasting until the second round of the 2019 draft out of John T. Morgan Academy (H.S.) in Alabama. Coming into the season, Baseball Prospectus had him as the #88 prospect, MLB Pipeline #64, and Baseball America #57.
So, how do you go from that to the top of the list?
If you’re Gunnar, it goes something like this…
— Start the year in AA Bowie as a 20-year-old, an average of three years younger than your peers, according to Baseball Reference. Mash to the tune of .312/.452/.573 with eight homers, 11 doubles, and three triples, and 49 hits in 47 games.
— Get promoted to AAA Norfolk, where you’re now an average of over five years younger than the competition.
— Turn 21.
— Party?
— Keep right on destroying baseballs, at a .288/.390/.504 clip with 11 homers, 13 doubles, four triples, and 72 hits in 65 games at notoriously pitcher-friendly Harbor Park.
That’s how you raise your stock.
Henderson was recalled on Monday, along with DL Hall, to be part of the “taxi squad.” We assumed he would be promoted tomorrow, when rosters expand to 28, but Mike Elias didn’t see the use in waiting any longer, not with his team now three games off the pace in the wild card hunt and struggling mightily offensively.
27 runs in 9 games (3/g)since that 15-10 insanity against Boston.
Take that one out, and it's 34 in 12 (2.8/g) since the 7-3 win against Toronto 8/15.
— Eutaw Street Report (@EutawStReport) August 31, 2022
In the 2nd half, 20 qualified major leaguers have an OBP below .275. 4 of them are Orioles:
Mountcastle (.247, 7th worst)
Odor (.265, 15th worst)
Hays (.267, t-16th worst)
UrÃas (.272, 18th worst)— Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer) August 31, 2022
Three of the names on Matt’s list above are infielders. So is Gunnar. He is usually a third baseman, but has played all four positions, getting reps recently in AAA on the right side, quite clearly in advance of this call-up and with an eye toward helping the big club in September.
He becomes the youngest Oriole to debut since…you guessed it…Manny Machado, who came up as a 20-year-old back in 2012.
The team needs a bit of a spark. Hopefully, the youngster can provide it. But even if he doesn’t, we should try to make sure we remember where he started 2022, and remind ourselves that it really wouldn’t be fair to be disappointed in him in any way, shape, or form.
