Gunnar Henderson 2023

[justD]

On 4/12/2023 at 8:50 AM, Tony-OH said:

He's also not off to a good start defensively. Part of that could be inconsistent work, but I've always been worried that the Orioles focus on versatility in the minors would affect their minor leaguers ability to be very good in one particular position. We see the tools that Gunnar has, but even in the minors he was error prone at times. 

In my mind you need to decide where a guy is going to play at the major league level and play him there at least 80% of the time. 

On 4/12/2023 at 10:19 AM, Otter said:

Versatility is good to a degree, but having young top prospects splitting time between many positions makes it really hard for them to master any one position. 

While I couldn't agree more - especially when trying to create a solid DP combo - Gunnar's played in 13 games so far, and 9 of those games he's played 3B, or 70% of the time.  It's not 80%, but it's pretty close (SSS).  So they really aren't moving him around as much as it seems. 

I also believe that when a player is focusing on defense, offense is impacted, and vice versa.  I think that's also part of his situation.

It's a steep learning curve to jump to the Major Leagues, isnt' it?  I'm going to give him time, after watching him the past few years I'm fairly confident he'll be everything I'd hoped he'd be. 

[sportsfan8703]

Big day for Gunnar. He just has to realize that he’s being pitched to. Pitchers are not giving him a lot to hit. He had a couple of nice plays in the field as well. 

[btdart20]

42 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Big day for Gunnar. He just has to realize that he’s being pitched to. Pitchers are not giving him a lot to hit. He had a couple of nice plays in the field as well. 

Yeah, hoping that was the jump start he needs.  His approach and discipline has been fine.  And he's been making solid contact when he actually makes contact.  And it seems he's staying positive heading into each AB regardless of the stats.  But some good results with contact has to be encouraging.  So, I'm hoping this is the start of his ROY run!

[HakunaSakata]

Frustrating start for Gunnar (overall), but you have to love the .373 OBP and he seems to be getting more comfortable in the field with each game. I know he had a throwing mistake yesterday, but he also made some really nice plays. I think he'll be fine and expect the batting average to start to creep back up over the next few weeks as he settles in. 

[sportsfan8703]

Adley and Gunnar are getting pitched pretty much the same. Adley is a SH, and also has more protection in the lineup. Also, it just seems like pitchers have dropped some really nasty pitches on Gunnar. That’s going to happen. 
 

The patience is a plus. Eventually his luck will even out a little bit. 

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Adley and Gunnar are getting pitched pretty much the same. Adley is a SH, and also has more protection in the lineup. Also, it just seems like pitchers have dropped some really nasty pitches on Gunnar. That’s going to happen. 
 

The patience is a plus. Eventually his luck will even out a little bit. 

I don’t think there’s been much luck involved.  He’s struck out 21 times in 59 PA, nothing unlucky about that.  His wOBA is .320, his xwOBA is .321, so he’s getting the expected results based on quality of contact.   

Anyway, I can’t say I’m very worried about him.  He will catch fire eventually, and his good approach at the plate will serve him well.   
 

[Jagwar]

I love that he's struggling at the plate, yet he's on base 1-2 times a game and has scored 12 runs. 

Even if he hits .250-260 he's going to be a dangerous productive part of the lineup 

[banks703]

I think we're going to look back in three months and have to squint to see this cold start by Gunnar. I read a quote or heard it from Hyde indicating that he wanted Gunnar to be more aggressive, which I have to agree with. The patience is great and taking the walks are obviously wonderful but being too selective often results in bad ABs. Remember when everyone was up in arms over Chris Davis not swinging at strikes? He was also probably not seeing the ball well but was sitting dead-red on his pitch and it almost never came. 

 

Patience is often the last thing to come for young hitters. I'm thrilled that he can show patience at 21 but I'd also like to see him more aggressive. To me, he's looked like his timing is off just a little bit. I'm not suggesting he be Ryan Mountcastle and swing at the first pitch in every AB but I'd like to see him swinging more earlier in the count. I think he'll be fine. These two weeks could be a blip, just like Adley's were last year. 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by banks703

[Frobby]

33 minutes ago, banks703 said:

I think we're going to look back in three months and have to squint to see this cold start by Gunnar. I read a quote or heard it from Hyde indicating that he wanted Gunnar to be more aggressive, which I have to agree with. The patience is great and taking the walks are obviously wonderful but being too selective often results in bad ABs. Remember when everyone was up in arms over Chris Davis not swinging at strikes? He was also probably not seeing the ball well but was sitting dead-red on his pitch and it almost never came. 

 

Patience is often the last thing to come for young hitters. I'm thrilled that he can show patience at 21 but I'd also like to see him more aggressive. To me, he's looked like his timing is off just a little bit. I'm not suggesting he be Ryan Mountcastle and swing at the first pitch in every AB but I'd like to see him swinging more earlier in the count. I think he'll be fine. These two weeks could be a blip, just like Adley's were last year. 

 

I don’t see Gunnar watching pitches go right down the middle for strikes, a la Davis.  What I do see is (1) before two strikes, he’s very disciplined about not swinging at pitcher’s pitches even if they’re strikes, (2) occasionally he fails to protect the edges of the strike zone with two strikes and takes a borderline strike for strike three, and (3) he’s a bit vulnerable to good breaking pitches down and in from RHP, and generally a bit vulnerable against LHP.   And, as you said, his timing seems just a hair off.  I have little doubt that will come around. 

[sportsfan8703]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I don’t think there’s been much luck involved.  He’s struck out 21 times in 59 PA, nothing unlucky about that.  His wOBA is .320, his xwOBA is .321, so he’s getting the expected results based on quality of contact.   

Anyway, I can’t say I’m very worried about him.  He will catch fire eventually, and his good approach at the plate will serve him well.   
 

Unlucky in that some of these nasty low and in breaking balls have caught the strike zone.  

[interloper]

22 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Unlucky in that some of these nasty low and in breaking balls have caught the strike zone.  

I agree that he's had a lot of borderline strikes called on him. 

[banks703]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I don’t see Gunnar watching pitches go right down the middle for strikes, a la Davis.  What I do see is (1) before two strikes, he’s very disciplined about not swinging at pitcher’s pitches even if they’re strikes, (2) occasionally he fails to protect the edges of the strike zone with two strikes and takes a borderline strike for strike three, and (3) he’s a bit vulnerable to good breaking pitches down and in from RHP, and generally a bit vulnerable against LHP.   And, as you said, his timing seems just a hair off.  I have little doubt that will come around. 

This is generally my observation as well but I'll add that I can't tell for sure if he's being fooled on some of the strikeouts or if he's just not swinging at pitcher's pitches. Perhaps it's a combination of both. In any event, as he matures as a player I believe that he will make adjustments and will be able to take advantage of pitchers throwing their pitches in the zone. He's mashed at every level and I believe that he will hit big-time at the ML as well. It's easy for us to forget sometimes that he's only 21. I'm with you in not being overly concerned about his slow start. 

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, banks703 said:

This is generally my observation as well but I'll add that I can't tell for sure if he's being fooled on some of the strikeouts or if he's just not swinging at pitcher's pitches. Perhaps it's a combination of both. In any event, as he matures as a player I believe that he will make adjustments and will be able to take advantage of pitchers throwing their pitches in the zone. He's mashed at every level and I believe that he will hit big-time at the ML as well. It's easy for us to forget sometimes that he's only 21. I'm with you in not being overly concerned about his slow start. 

I think with 2 strikes you have to be willing to protect more than Gunnar has.  But I’m confident Gunnar will figure it all out.  

[DirtyBird]

Why is he on the major league roster right now?

[glenn__davis]

45 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

Why is he on the major league roster right now?

Julio Rodriguez had a .544 OPS with 30K in 81PA last April.  Adley's OPS was 0.496 through his first 3 weeks last year.

Gunnar is at a .636 OPS right now.  Let him settle in.  I wasn't on thee ROY hype train but he's better than he's showing now.