Orioles young star reminding everyone of incredible talent

A lot of factors contributed to the Baltimore Orioles getting off to an abysmally slow start, digging a hole that proved too deep to climb out of and making them the most disappointing team in baseball this year.

Much of the blame was placed on the pitching staff, which cannot go unnoticed, hampered by injury and ineffectiveness. But a lineup that was expected to carry the load and buoy the team’s success didn’t produce much in the early going either.

One of the big reasons for the offensive inconsistencies early on was the performance of shortstop Gunnar Henderson, whose start to the 2025 regular season was delayed slightly because of injury. He didn’t debut until April 4, missing the end of spring training and not having a rehab assignment to knock off the rust and ramp things back up.

This certainly showed with his performance on the field, as Henderson didn’t get his batting average over the Mendoza line until April 13 when he went 3-for-5 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He didn't hit his first home run of the season until April 17 and his stats to begin the year were underwhelming, especially for his standard.

On May 3, he went 3-for-4 in a game against the Kansas City Royals to push his average to .250, marking the first time he had hit that plateau since his first game of the year. His batting average has not dipped below that mark since, looking more and more like the dominant player he has resembled throughout his short major league career.

Gunnar Henderson has been on fire for Orioles