‘The Rookie of the Year competition starts now… ‘
Super rookie’ Gunnar Henderson (21) of the Baltimore Orioles of the American Major League (MLB) is showing his expected appearance.메이저사이트
In our time today (25th) against the New York Yankees held at Yankee Stadium in New York, Henderson came out as a pinch hitter from 1st and 2nd base, 4-5 behind, and hit a sweeping come-from-behind double. He was the final blow to turn the game around 1-5.
Baltimore, who seized the win, made a big inning with 2 more points and 8 points in one inning. Baltimore’s 8 runs in one inning is the first since September 9, 2021 against the Kansas City Royals (9 runs in 8 innings).
Henderson, who joined Baltimore with the 2nd round, 42nd overall pick, in the 2019 draft, was beyond the team and the league’s top prospect. He was the 2nd overall prospect ranking based on the MLB pipeline before this season and the 1st overall rookie based on BA (Baseball America). Anticipation was so high that MLB.com predicted the AL (American League) Rookie of the Year award before the season was Henderson.
However, the walls of the big leagues were not easy. He consistently received opportunities as a starter, but failed to impress during the month of April, going 14 hits in 71 at-bats (three doubles), two home runs, a batting average of .197, and an on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.669.
However, in May, he is improving his hitting feeling with 14 hits in 62 at-bats (3 doubles, 2 triples), 3 homers, batting average of 0.226, and OPS of 0.808. He also raised his season performance to 0.727 OPS.
Henderson’s biggest attraction is his position. He plays a lot as a third baseman due to the situation of the team where Jorge Mateo is holding out at shortstop, but he is evaluated as an elite infielder who can also defend shortstop.
Henderson has played in 35 games at third base and nine games at shortstop this season. He has shown solid defensive performance at both the third base and shortstop positions, recording 1 and 0 respectively in DRS (a measure of how many runs are prevented).
If Henderson succeeds in adapting to the big leagues, the AL Rookie of the Year competition is expected to intensify. It’s early in the season, but current Rookie of the Year contenders include outfielder Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox), third baseman Josh Young (Texas Rangers), shortstop Anthony Wolf (Yankees) and pitcher Hunter Brown (Houston Astros).