Gunnar Henderson hit .197 last April. That is not happening this year.
He is 4-for-10 to start the new year, with a triple, homer and four RBIs. His three-game OPS is 1.438.
And here is the part that should worry opposing pitchers: He is getting more and more comfortable batting leadoff, as he has done the first three games and will do again tonight versus Kansas City.
“It’s growing on me. I don’t mind it now,” Henderson said before tonight’s game. “I was always hitting in the two or three hole minor leagues, and then when I got up here started hitting leadoff, and it has been growing on me.
“Just think I’m getting more comfortable with it. Just having to be ready, get out there a little earlier on the road. Just be aware of the time before the game. On the road you have to hit first and get out there earlier and be ready.”
Last year Henderson had 200 plate appearances batting first, his most at any spot, followed by 187 batting fifth and 116 hitting second.
He hit .265/.330/.530/.860 as a leadoff hitter last year. Henderson’s best spot for OPS was as a No. 3 hitter, where he posted a .930 mark. He batted third in 41 plate appearances in 2023.
Henderson said he tries to keep his same hitting approach, even when he hits to start a game.
“I try not to (change anything),” he said. “It’s still relatively new. I know I hit there a lot last year, but that was pretty much my first year doing it, and it was at the big league level. It has challenges to it. Do I want to swing first pitch or not? After that first time it’s like a normal lineup as to when you come up.”
And the coaches have not given him any specific instructions or input about batting first.
“No. He (manager Brandon Hyde) asked me if I would be OK doing it, and now it’s just getting the experience and I’m enjoying doing it.”
Henderson drew a four-pitch walk in his first plate appearance of this season on Opening Day. But that was not about trying to work a count or see a number of pitches.
“That is just what happened. He didn’t throw a competitive pitch in that at-bat and made my decision-making easier,” he said.
Henderson sure squared up some balls on Saturday, producing exit velocities of 106.6, 105.0, 110.0 and 111.8. At this early stage he ranks in the top nine percent in the majors in exit velo, and the top five percent in hard-hit percentage.
He said a good spring training has carried into the season.
“I feel like I went into this year and was able to come in and say I’m going to fail aggressively. If I fail playing aggressive, I can live with that. Feel like I’m doing that this year,” he said before the Orioles and Royals series opener.
Frazier’s return: Adam Frazier, a 2023 Oriole who played in 141 games for that 101-win team, is back in Baltimore with his new team for this series. He is 3-for-9 so far this year. Tonight he will bat seventh at second base for Kansas City.
“Good memories, obviously,” he said today in the Royals clubhouse of his time as an Oriole. “It’s good to be back.”
In late January, Frazier signed a one-year deal with Kansas City, reportedly for $4.5 million, that includes a mutual option for 2025. He said early in the winter he thought there was a small chance he could remain an Oriole.
“Yeah, there was a chance, we talked a little bit,” he said. “But with (Jackson) Holliday coming, some other guys, Jordan Westburg too, you can kind of see, I could have gone back and played once or twice a week, probably. But at this point in my career I still think I can play more like every day. Who knows. You never know what will happen down the road. If I end up back there at some point in my career, that would be great too.”
Frazier believes the Orioles could do some special things in the next three to five years.
“The sky is the limit,” he said. “Think everybody gets a glimpse of Gunnar every night. Of Adley (Rutschman), of Grayson Rodriguez. Those young guys. But you know, Cedric Mullins is really a special player. Austin Hays, (Anthony) Santander. It’s one through nine and the whole bench.
“Three to five years, everybody knows (Jackson) Holliday is coming at some point, but there are a lot of other guys coming too. It’s going to be whatever they want to make it. That team is that talented.
“I’m sure Mike (Elias) and his staff are going to do everything they can to add around that the next few years. That window (to win) has already started and who knows how long that window will be open.
