Gunnar Henderson 2021

[Brooks The Great]

Surprised no one else mentioned Gunnar's 1st AA home run (playoffs) tonight.

I might be in the minority, but I've been more impressed by Gunnar Henderson's season than Coby Mayo's. And I say that as someone who has been extremely impressed with Mayo - I'm ecstatic that we have Henderson, Mayo, and Westburg all in the organization and having turned in great 2021 seasons.

Gunnar has played in 3 different levels this season, and he's faced adversity multiple times. Each time, he adjusted and bounced back. And even when he was slumping, he would always display good plate discipline.

Mayo has yet to face a pronounced slump. He will, and that's when we'll see how he adjusts and just how good his hit tool is. I've seen enough of Mayo's power and swing to know we have a special player on our hands, but Mayo didn't get all that many at bats this season, and he wasn't really challenged. Henderson was - multiple times. Henderson had more than double the at bats this season compared to Mayo, and Gunnar was challenged more aggressively with his promotions. Mayo was understandably handled more cautiously, simply given the covid layoff and this season being his first real taste of pro ball out of high school.

Really excited to have these kids in the organization.

[RZNJ]

I can see making a case for Gunnar but the only time he faced adversity and bounced back was in Aberdeen unless you are counting his multiple slumps there as bouncing back each time.  He didn't really face adversity at Delmarva and I wouldn't say he had enough time in Bowie to face it or bounce back.  Mayo will hit into tough times too but initial signs point to him maybe not struggling as much as Henderson has at the next two levels.  We'll see.  Obviously Henderson has an extra year of experience going for him.  I agree, it's great to have Westburg, Henderson, and Mayo.  All three spent time at Delmarva this year and, IMO, Mayo was the most impressive overall offensively while there.  

[jamalshw]

I'm ready to see Westburg at Norfolk, Henderson at Bowie and Mayo in Aberdeen to start the year in 2022 with Westburg having a chance to earn a mid-year promotion to the Majors and both Henderson and Mayo having a chance (with a good 2022) to put themselves in line for a debut sometime in 2023. 

[ChuckS]

13 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

I'm ready to see Westburg at Norfolk, Henderson at Bowie and Mayo in Aberdeen to start the year in 2022 with Westburg having a chance to earn a mid-year promotion to the Majors and both Henderson and Mayo having a chance (with a good 2022) to put themselves in line for a debut sometime in 2023. 

Westburg just started to hit his last few weeks at Bowie.  He will begin 2022 there but could be promoted quickly.  I would expect another full year in the minors with an early 2023 ETA for him if he continues on his current trajectory. 

[Frobby]

4 hours ago, RZNJ said:

I can see making a case for Gunnar but the only time he faced adversity and bounced back was in Aberdeen unless you are counting his multiple slumps there as bouncing back each time.  He didn't really face adversity at Delmarva and I wouldn't say he had enough time in Bowie to face it or bounce back.  Mayo will hit into tough times too but initial signs point to him maybe not struggling as much as Henderson has at the next two levels.  We'll see.  Obviously Henderson has an extra year of experience going for him.  I agree, it's great to have Westburg, Henderson, and Mayo.  All three spent time at Delmarva this year and, IMO, Mayo was the most impressive overall offensively while there.  

It’s all good news.   I remember when break camp rosters were announced in late April/early May, I was kind of disappointed that Mayo wasn’t starting the year at Delmarva.   As I look back now, it’s kind of a shame that he didn’t at least get moved to Delmarva when first Westburg and then Henderson were promoted.   He probably could have gotten another 200 plate appearances, and maybe been called up to Aberdeen at some point.   But in any event, he had a successful season and whetted our appetites for next year.  

As to Henderson, I’m glad to see him get a taste of playoff baseball and respond with a homer.   He was just coming around at Aberdeen, and I don’t think he would have been promoted the last week of the season except for Bowie’s playoff push.   I think he’ll be challenged in AA next year, but we can be pretty sure that’s where he’ll be starting.   
 

[bobmc]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

It’s all good news.   I remember when break camp rosters were announced in late April/early May, I was kind of disappointed that Mayo wasn’t starting the year at Delmarva.   As I look back now, it’s kind of a shame that he didn’t at least get moved to Delmarva when first Westburg and then Henderson were promoted.   He probably could have gotten another 200 plate appearances, and maybe been called up to Aberdeen at some point.   But in any event, he had a successful season and whetted our appetites for next year.  

As to Henderson, I’m glad to see him get a taste of playoff baseball and respond with a homer.   He was just coming around at Aberdeen, and I don’t think he would have been promoted the last week of the season except for Bowie’s playoff push.   I think he’ll be challenged in AA next year, but we can be pretty sure that’s where he’ll be starting.   
 

Gunnar made a nice web gem last night also.  Here it is.

 

[Ruzious]

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

Gunnar made a nice web gem last night also.  Here it is.

 

That looked like the range you want in a SS.  

[joelala]

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

Gunnar made a nice web gem last night also.  Here it is.

 

Smooth 

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, joelala said:

Smooth 

It's a hot one, like seven inches from the midday sun.

[joelala]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

It's a hot one, like seven inches from the midday sun.

This life ain’t good enough 

[sportsfan8703]

.964 OPS in the playoff games. He hit off some good pitching. Akron pitchers shut the rest of the team down. 

[seak05]

12 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

.964 OPS in the playoff games. He hit off some good pitching. Akron pitchers shut the rest of the team down. 

Yeah, and a few nice defensive plays. In a high pressure position, he did very nicely at a high level. 

[RZNJ]

The defensive play certainly looked more middle infieldish than corner guy.   I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

[Moose Milligan]

That play was impressive.  It's good to see him having a good playoff series.

If I am Elias I am doing what I can to get Cal to work with Henderson in the offseason to teach him about positioning at shortstop.  Taking lessons from a big guy who played SS would be pretty important and no one did it better than Cal.  

Henderson is listed as 6'3, 195.  Who knows how accurate that weight is, but he's certainly going to fill out.  Not sure if that'll prohibit his range at all, but it'd be great to have him stick at SS with Mayo at 3rd.  

[Ruzious]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

That play was impressive.  It's good to see him having a good playoff series.

If I am Elias I am doing what I can to get Cal to work with Henderson in the offseason to teach him about positioning at shortstop.  Taking lessons from a big guy who played SS would be pretty important and no one did it better than Cal.  

Henderson is listed as 6'3, 195.  Who knows how accurate that weight is, but he's certainly going to fill out.  Not sure if that'll prohibit his range at all, but it'd be great to have him stick at SS with Mayo at 3rd.  

Seeing him about a month ago, I'd guess that 195 is from a long time ago - a good 20 lbs ago.