The Henderson File
Team: Baltimore Orioles
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210
Age: 21
Birthday: 6/29/2001
Average Exit Velo: 92.4 mph
College: N/A
Draft: 42nd overall, 2019
Contract: Signed a $2.3 million signing bonus when drafted
WAG: In a relationship with Katherine Lee
Children: N/A
Record/Accomplishments:
- 42nd overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft
- One All-Star Futures Game selection, 2022
Gunnar Henderson is the Coolest Kid in Baseball
The name. The flow. The talent. I’m submitting my ballot for the coolest cat in baseball, and I’ve filled in the circle next to Gunnar Henderson’s name.
Henderson, briefly the top prospect in baseball–a tradition the Baltimore Orioles seem to enjoy, sandwiching him between Adley Rutschman and Grayson Rodriguez–didn’t take long to make an impact in the big leagues.
In his first 132 plate appearances, he boasted a wRC+ 26% better than league average (126) and tallied almost an entire win above replacement. He continued his stretch of dominance that carried him through the farm system.
Like Rutschman before him, Henderson comes with an aura that’s just different. The fun follows, too.
On his first career home run, Henderson lost his helmet mid-swing. The flow was unleashed as he sprinted around the bases, taking in a moment he’d never forget. When he got to the dugout, helmet still not in hand, he was rewarded with a Home Run Chain.
The first of many for Henderson, his rise to prominence is epitomizing many of the virtues the “Let The Kids Play” era is all about. Baltimore may be the most fun young team in baseball, and it’ll stay that way as long as Henderson’s patrolling the middle infield.