Before the Orioles’ series-opening recreation towards the Texas Rangers on Monday, supervisor Brandon Hyde stated he wasn’t anxious about Gunnar Henderson after his hitless weekend towards the Boston Red Sox.
After all, Henderson did stroll six instances within the first three video games, tied for essentially the most within the American League in that span.
“The hits haven’t come yet, but they will,” Hyde stated. “He’s trying to get that first one. Once he gets that first one, he’ll be able to relax a little bit. His at-bats have been good so far.”
Hyde’s prediction turned out to be proper in a number of methods. Not solely did Henderson, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, document a number of hits within the Orioles’ 2-0 win Monday, but it surely was additionally the primary knock — a second-inning single — that calmed his nerves and led to his first residence run of the season.
“It’s awesome being able to get the first hit out the way, especially at the big leagues,” Henderson stated of his single to proper discipline. “You’re just wanting to help the team win. To be able to help and come through today was awesome.”
In Henderson’s subsequent at-bat, he deposited a 2-0 fastball from Rangers starter Jon Gray 408 toes over the left-center-field fence at Globe Life Field. The 21-year-old infielder laid off two off-speed pitches exterior the strike zone to get forward after which jumped on the center-cut heater.
“I got in a good hitter’s count. I felt like I’ve been seeing his fastball pretty well,” Henderson stated. “I was able to get one out over the plate and did some damage with it.”
The 106.6 mph exit velocity on the lengthy ball marked the hardest-hit ball from Henderson this season. Hyde stated the deep shot was much more spectacular contemplating it went to the other discipline.
“That was loud,” Hyde stated in regards to the crack of the bat on Henderson’s blast. “That was nice to see from him. Good to see the single early. That just shows you how much power that guy has to be able to hit the ball out of that part of the ballpark left-handed. That was a hit we needed.”
The run was the primary of two the Orioles would rating within the win. Shortstop Jorge Mateo additionally homered — one-upping Henderson with a 433-foot shot to left discipline for his first residence run of the season.
Henderson, who earned reward this offseason as the game’s high prospect in each main rating, is the betting favourite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. He narrowly maintained his rookie standing after enjoying in 34 video games final season and amassing 116 at-bats after his call-up in late August.
After posting a profession .276/.378/.488 slash line within the minor leagues, Henderson hit .259 with 4 residence runs and 7 doubles with the Orioles down the stretch.
Like Hyde, Henderson additionally wasn’t involved together with his gradual begin with the bat towards the Red Sox. Despite going 0-for-8 with 4 strikeouts, Henderson walked a whopping six instances in three video games — a testomony to each his batting eye and plate self-discipline.
The significance of these traits — spectacular and uncommon for a participant of Henderson’s age to own — aren’t simply good for walks, although. They’re correlated with energy numbers, as moving into hitter-friendly counts, reminiscent of 2-0 when he homered Monday, permits hitters to gear up for a fastball.
“I felt like I’ve been seeing the ball really well, been taking good at-bats,” Henderson stated. “I knew it was only a matter of time before I got 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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Source: www.bostonherald.com