Gunnar Henderson
The Orioles’ resurgence into contender status over the past three seasons has been fueled by a young core of talented position players, and Gunnar Henderson has been the best of the bunch. Though he was “only” a second-round pick in 2019 and didn’t quite have the prospect pedigree of teammate Adley Rutschman, Henderson has already posted 16.2 career bWAR and is still only 23 years old.
After splitting time between third base and shortstop in his 2023 Rookie of the Year campaign, Henderson became Baltimore’s everyday shortstop in 2024 and put up an incredible 9.1 bWAR. Though he was no slouch as a rookie, his sophomore season saw his home run, walk, and strikeout rates all trend in the right direction. His defense graded out close to average, but at shortstop, his bat makes him comically valuable.
Henderson will be a free agent after the 2028 season, when he will be 27. There isn’t one standout tool in his game, but he is an excellent all-around player who will be a relatively young free agent. If he continues the torrid start to his career and shows that he can stick at shortstop, teams will be climbing over each other to bring him on board.