The Orioles Need Gunnar Henderson To Find Himself

The Baltimore Orioles‘ season feels like a horror movie that refuses to end. Every time it looks like they’re about to escape danger, another setback pulls them right back in.

They win a few games, lose a few more, and remain trapped in a cycle of mediocrity. The last time the Birds were above .500 was on April 14, when they entered play at 9-8.

Now the plot is only getting darker.

The Orioles have lost four of their last five games. What once felt like a frustrating season now feels more like a downward spiral toward another disappointing ending.

Turning things around will not be easy, but if Baltimore wants to rewrite the script, it needs its biggest star to step up.

Enter Gunnar Henderson.

Henderson is a household name and one of baseball’s brightest young stars. But after an underwhelming season by his standards in 2025 and an even worse start to this year, the Orioles’ 24-year-old shortstop looks more like an ember trying to reignite than the blazing star fans had grown accustomed to seeing.

To Henderson’s credit, the power has returned.

He has hit 15 home runs in 310 at-bats after launching just 17 all of last season. But outside of the power numbers, Henderson has struggled to meet his usual standards.

He’s hitting just .223 with a .292 on-base percentage and a .416 slugging percentage. His 97 wRC+ is also far below what fans have come to expect. Each of those numbers would stand as a career low for Henderson entering play in mid-June.

Without their superstar playing at his best, it’s hard to believe the Orioles can change the script of this horror movie.

What a Resurgent Henderson Would Mean

The Orioles lineup isn’t lacking in star power. Ahead of Henderson is Taylor Ward, who has been an on-base machine all season. His .394 OBP ranks fourth in the AL behind Nick Kurtz, Yordan Alvarez, and Yandy Díaz.

Behind Henderson sits a dangerous trio of hitters in Adley Rutschman, Pete Alonso, and Samuel Basallo. A lineup featuring that group has all the makings of one of baseball’s best if Henderson can return to form.

In Henderson’s rookie season in 2023, he instantly showed why he was worth all the hype. He hit .255/.325/.489 with 28 home runs, 82 RBI, and a 4.7 fWAR.

He became the first Orioles player in franchise history to unanimously win the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Henderson also helped Baltimore capture its first division title since 2014.

Although the Orioles were eliminated in the ALDS, the season provided something even more important. They had found their next franchise shortstop, one capable of leading the organization for years to come.

In Henderson’s sophomore season, he went from budding superstar to legitimate MVP candidate. He improved all across the board, hitting .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs, 92 RBI, 21 stolen bases, and a 7.9 fWAR.

Henderson finished fourth in AL MVP voting and helped the Orioles reach the postseason for a second straight season.

As mentioned earlier, Henderson’s power dipped in 2025 as he hit just 17 home runs. Even so, he still posted a .787 OPS and a 120 wRC+.

Henderson also revealed he dealt with a shoulder impingement for much of the season, helping explain some of the decline in power. It seemed to set the stage for a return to MVP-caliber form in 2026.

Instead, here we are on June 19, and Henderson looks nothing like the player Orioles fans watched emerge over the previous three seasons.

So what’s changed?

Simply put, Henderson is pulling everything and getting under too many pitches.

For three straight seasons, Henderson carried a pull rate of 36.6%. This season, that number has jumped to 44.5%.

Throughout his career, Henderson has been at his best when using the entire field. This season, he has become much more pull-heavy, and the results have suffered.

His quality of contact numbers tells a similar story.

Henderson’s under percentage has jumped from 18.7% to 25.6%. Despite his hitting more home runs, his hard-hit rate has also dropped more than three percentage points to 45.8%.

When numbers like those appear, it’s natural to wonder if his launch angle has changed. Spoiler: it has. Henderson’s average launch angle has increased from 9.5 degrees to 12.1 degrees.

There are plenty of different hitting philosophies throughout baseball. Many hitters thrive with a higher launch angle and an approach built around lifting the ball.

But that’s not who Gunnar Henderson is at his best.

He needs to get back to the player who drove the ball from gap to gap, used the entire field, and consistently found ways to get on base. Instead of trying to pull everything in the air, Henderson needs to simplify his approach.

Because if Henderson can return to the version of himself that combined power with an all-fields approach, Baltimore’s outlook changes dramatically.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on a 24-year-old player. But that’s the territory that comes with being a superstar in this sport. Henderson has done it before, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t do it again.

The Orioles can still change the script of this horror movie. But for that to happen, Gunnar Henderson has to become Gunnar Henderson once again.