Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson has dismantled the Seattle Mariners pitching staff.
On Sunday, at the bottom of the first inning, Henderson demolished an 87 mph pitch from Seattle’s George Kirby for a 422-foot home run. It’s his third straight game with a homer. Entering this matchup, Henderson had the most home runs (14 in 43 games) in baseball.
After winning American League Rookie of the Year last season, Henderson is off to an even better start. On Saturday, Henderson tied former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols for the sixth-most homers through a team’s first 43 games at 22 or younger, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Unsurprisingly, Henderson has entered the AL MVP conversation. As of Sunday, FanDuel gives him the fourth-best odds (+440) to win the award behind Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge and Yankees right fielder Juan Soto.
If Henderson keeps rolling, it could give the Orioles (29-15) a chance to vie for a second straight AL East title. They’re second in the division behind the Yankees (33-15), who have a two-game lead.