Gunnar Henderson

Gunnar Henderson

23-Year-Old ShortstopSS
Baltimore Orioles
2024 Fantasy Outlook
We should always be impressed when 22 year olds hold their own at the major league level considering most players that age are still taking a bus to a small to mid-sized town near you. It is even more impressive when said players do something few others do early in their careers. Henderson was one of five corner infielders with 25 homers, 80 runs and RBIs along with 10 steals joining Walker, Freeman, Bellinger, and Goldschmidt while being five years younger than anyone else in that group. Henderson has been everything as advertised so far at the plate and in the field qualifying at both positions on the left side of the infield. The only fantasy flaw in his current profile is he has been just above average in batting average as his plate discipline is still morphing into what it could be while he continues attempting to figure out lefties who have limited him to a .199 average. Those are flaws you can live with for now while enjoying his continued overall growth Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#30
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $756,200 contract with the Orioles in March of 2024.
Getting break Saturday
SSBaltimore Orioles
September 28, 2024
Henderson isn't in Baltimore's lineup Saturday versus the Twins, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Henderson has gone 0-for-6 while having his seven-game hitting streak snapped Thursday, and he'll get a chance to rest Saturday while Jackson Holliday starts at shortstop and bats leadoff.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
96
21
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
23
12
7
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+26%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+11%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+43%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+95%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .717 410 45 11 38 10 .229 .324 .393
Since 2022vs Right .900 1063 185 58 154 22 .283 .355 .545
2024vs Left .829 217 24 8 25 6 .257 .359 .470
2024vs Right .919 502 94 29 67 15 .291 .367 .553
2023vs Left .618 167 20 3 11 4 .209 .293 .324
2023vs Right .885 455 80 25 71 6 .272 .336 .549
2022vs Left .448 26 1 0 2 0 .130 .231 .217
2022vs Right .872 106 11 4 16 1 .290 .377 .495
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+3%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+4%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+1%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+62%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .838 733 107 37 95 16 .266 .333 .505
Since 2022Away .862 740 123 32 97 16 .270 .359 .502
2024Home .909 352 57 23 54 9 .283 .355 .554
2024Away .876 367 61 14 38 12 .278 .373 .503
2023Home .810 308 45 13 35 7 .256 .315 .495
2023Away .818 314 55 15 47 3 .254 .334 .484
2022Home .620 73 5 1 6 0 .227 .301 .318
2022Away 1.007 59 7 3 12 1 .300 .407 .600
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Stat Review
How does Gunnar Henderson compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.49
 
BB Rate
10.8%
 
K Rate
22.1%
 
BABIP
.320
 
ISO
.248
 
AVG
.281
 
OBP
.364
 
SLG
.529
 
OPS
.893
 
wOBA
.386
 
Exit Velocity
92.8 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
43.1%
 
Barrels/PA
7.4%
 
Expected BA
.289
 
Expected SLG
.505
 
Sprint Speed
24.0 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
46.7%
 
Line Drive %
20.6%
 
Fly Ball %
32.6%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
Henderson was shot out of a cannon last season, putting up a .312/.452/.573 slash line and 176 wRC+ with more walks (19.7 BB%) than strikeouts (18.3 K%) as a 20-year-old at Double-A. He subsequently got the bump to Triple-A, and while his production predictably dipped slightly, he still established himself as one of the game's elite prospects and got rewarded with a taste of the majors. Henderson's plus all-fields power is his current top skill for fantasy, and that may always be the case. However, he should also be a good enough hitter to add value in batting average and add significant value in on-base percentage. His 26.4 K% at Triple-A and 25.8 K% in the majors aren't very concerning when considering he won't turn 22 until late June and was well above the league average as a hitter at both stops. The young third baseman stole 23 bases on 27 attempts and has a 91st percentile sprint speed, so he could add double-digit steals over a full season. He primarily hit fifth in the majors and is one of Baltimore's bluechip building blocks, along with Adley Rutschman.
Henderson performed well statistically at the level he was supposed to perform well at (Low-A as a 19-year-old) but he struggled after aggressive assignments to High-A and Double-A. He struck out too much, even when he was having success, logging a 30.9 K% on the season. Henderson uses the whole field well and comfortably projects for plus power -- he hit 17 home runs and 28 doubles in 105 games, primarily against more advanced competition. However, so far, Henderson looks like a better prospect for OBP leagues than AVG leagues, given that he walked or struck out in 43% of his plate appearances last season. He is an average runner with some stiffness and a thicker lower half, so he may end up moving to third base and probably won't be a major threat on the bases, although he does have good instincts. It is noteworthy when a 20-year-old gets the bump to Double-A, and that's likely where Henderson will return this season, but for now, he projects as a three-category contributor in standard roto leagues.
By all accounts, Henderson was the most pleasant surprise this past summer at the Orioles' alternate training site and in the fall instructional league. A 6-foot-3, 195-pound shortstop who bats left-handed, Henderson was selected out of high school with the No. 42 overall pick in 2019 and held his own (103 wRC+) in the Gulf Coast League after signing. There were some mechanical adjustments made last year to Henderson's lower half that allowed him to have success over the summer as the youngest player at the alternate site. He is only an average runner and could slow down before he reaches the majors, so the hope is that he will hit for average and power to make up for the fact that he won't be a major source of stolen bases. He will likely head to Low-A, and if he is as good as advertised, he could get a bump to High-A before his 20th birthday in late June.
Henderson received $2.3 million (equivalent to the slot value of the No. 31 overall pick) when the Orioles selected him with the 42nd pick in 2019. While he was young for his class, not turning 18 until June 29, Henderson's Gulf Coast League showing wasn't particularly impressive. He hit .259/.331/.370 with one home run and two steals on four attempts in 121 PA. Seen as a sum-of-the-parts prospect without a standout tool, he does not stand out as an appealing dynasty-league target, although he should be rostered in deeper leagues. He uses the whole field and could develop above-average power as he fills out his 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame. He is just an average runner, which also limits the fantasy appeal.
More Fantasy News
Productive in Wednesday's win
SSBaltimore Orioles
September 26, 2024
Henderson went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 9-7 win over the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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Notches 21st steal
SSBaltimore Orioles
September 21, 2024
Henderson went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 7-1 win over the Tigers.
ANALYSIS
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Reaches 20-steal mark
SSBaltimore Orioles
September 19, 2024
Henderson went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Giants.
ANALYSIS
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Belts 37th home run
SSBaltimore Orioles
September 14, 2024
Henderson went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI, two runs and a stolen base in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Tigers.
ANALYSIS
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Racks up three hits in loss
SSBaltimore Orioles
September 8, 2024
Henderson went 3-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Rays.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Not moving off shortstop
SSBaltimore Orioles
October 30, 2024
According to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com, the Orioles are committed to Henderson playing shortstop and aren't expected to entertain shifting positions during the offseason.
ANALYSIS
Henderson split his time between shortstop and third base as a rookie in 2023 but worked as a full-time shortstop this year, and his defense was good enough with a plus-five DRS and minus-one OAA. It's also worth noting that his 25 errors were the second most among qualified shortstops, though that stat by itself isn't particularly useful. Regardless of where he's playing in the field, he lived up to his prospect pedigree as a hitter in 2024 as he posted a .281/.364/.529 slash line with 37 homers and 21 stolen bases in 159 regular-season games.
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