Earlier than the Orioles’ series-opening recreation in the direction of the Texas Rangers on Monday, supervisor Brandon Hyde said he wasn’t anxious about Gunnar Henderson after his hitless weekend in the direction of the Boston Crimson Sox.
In any case, Henderson did stroll six situations throughout the first three video video games, tied for primarily probably the most throughout the American League in that span.
“The hits haven’t come but, however they may,” Hyde said. “He’s attempting to get that first one. As soon as he will get that first one, he’ll have the ability to loosen up just a little bit. His at-bats have been good to this point.”
Hyde’s prediction turned out to be correct in quite a lot of strategies. Not solely did Henderson, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, doc quite a lot of hits throughout the Orioles’ 2-0 win Monday, nevertheless it certainly was moreover the first knock — a second-inning single — that calmed his nerves and led to his first residence run of the season.
“It’s superior having the ability to get the primary hit out the best way, particularly on the large leagues,” Henderson said of his single to correct self-discipline. “You’re simply wanting to assist the workforce win. To have the ability to assist and are available by means of at this time was superior.”
In Henderson’s subsequent at-bat, he deposited a 2-0 fastball from Rangers starter Jon Grey 408 toes over the left-center-field fence at Globe Life Subject. The 21-year-old infielder laid off two off-speed pitches exterior the strike zone to get ahead after which jumped on the center-cut heater.
“I received in a very good hitter’s depend. I felt like I’ve been seeing his fastball fairly properly,” Henderson said. “I used to be capable of get one out over the plate and did some harm with it.”
The 106.6 mph exit velocity on the prolonged ball marked the hardest-hit ball from Henderson this season. Hyde said the deep shot was far more spectacular considering it went to the opposite self-discipline.
“That was loud,” Hyde said regarding the crack of the bat on Henderson’s blast. “That was good to see from him. Good to see the one early. That simply reveals you ways a lot energy that man has to have the ability to hit the ball out of that a part of the ballpark left-handed. That was successful we wanted.”
The run was the first of two the Orioles would ranking throughout the win. Shortstop Jorge Mateo moreover homered — one-upping Henderson with a 433-foot shot to left self-discipline for his first residence run of the season.
Henderson, who earned reward this offseason as the sport’s excessive prospect in every important ranking, is the betting favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Yr Award. He narrowly maintained his rookie standing after having fun with in 34 video video games remaining season and amassing 116 at-bats after his call-up in late August.
After posting a career .276/.378/.488 slash line throughout the minor leagues, Henderson hit .259 with 4 residence runs and seven doubles with the Orioles down the stretch.
Like Hyde, Henderson moreover wasn’t concerned collectively along with his gradual start with the bat in the direction of the Crimson Sox. Regardless of going 0-for-8 with 4 strikeouts, Henderson walked a whopping six situations in three video video games — a testament to every his batting eye and plate self-discipline.
The importance of those traits — spectacular and unusual for a participant of Henderson’s age to personal — aren’t merely good for walks, though. They’re correlated with power numbers, as transferring into hitter-friendly counts, harking back to 2-0 when he homered Monday, permits hitters to gear up for a fastball.
“I felt like I’ve been seeing the ball rather well, been taking good at-bats,” Henderson said. “I knew it was solely a matter of time earlier than I received some good pitches to hit and put a barrel on one.”
Orioles at Rangers
Tuesday, 8:05 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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