Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson is displaying why he is the most effective leadoff hitters in baseball.
On Sunday, within the backside of the primary inning in opposition to the Tampa Bay Rays, Henderson crushed an 86 mph pitch from pitcher Zack Littell over the correct subject wall, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.
Getting into this recreation, Henderson was third in baseball in house runs (18), sixth in OPS (.927) and tied for eleventh in RBI (41).
On Thursday, MLB.com’s Sarah Langs shared Henderson is on tempo to hit 54 homers and 123 RBI out of the leadoff spot. If he retains it up, he’ll shatter the earlier data. In 2023, Atlanta Braves proper fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. hit 41 dingers, whereas Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts logged 107 RBI.
Whether or not Henderson hits these marks or not, the 2023 American Rookie League of the 12 months has proved he is an MVP contender through the first half of the season. As of Sunday, FanDuel provides him the third-best MVP odds (+480) behind New York Yankees outfielders Juan Soto (+300) and Aaron Decide (+200).
Nevertheless, Henderson not too long ago informed MASN-TV in Baltimore he is extra targeted on serving to the Orioles (37-19) make a deep postseason run moderately than the MVP race. Baltimore is second within the American League East behind the Yankees (41-19) and trails by two video games.
