What made Gunnar the #1 prospect in baseball and where is that guy?

[Matt S]

The stats were all there. The age. The helmet flying off in Cleveland. Where is the real Gunnar Henderson?

I know some will say he's 21(he'll be turning 22 , this month) and let him work it out. But, I see someone like Corbin Carroll in Arizona and say, "Man, that was supposed to be Gunnar this yr".

I see a guy extremely hard on himself and someone that can't let things go. A back injury at 21? Please don't be a sign of things to come. 

I miss the helmet flying off Gunnar we saw last yr. Come back to us. Wherever you are.

[Alasdaire]

It's all in front of you. You see that? The moon shots? The elite eye? Rocket throws? Blazing speed?

You have to look closely or else you'll get distracted by the inconsistency of a 21-year-old. But it's all right there.

[clapdiddy]

He has disappeared since his first 20 games last season.    Fortunately, he still gets on base at a decent rate, so that will keep him going. 

He'll get it all together eventually.   

[wildcard]

796 OPS vs righties before tonight's game.

[glenn__davis]

9 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

It's all in front of you. You see that? The moon shots? The elite eye? Rocket throws? Blazing speed?

You have to look closely or else you'll get distracted by the inconsistency of a 21-year-old. But it's all right there.

Agree with this, and he's been just fine against RHP.

I will say I'm a little surprised he was named the #1 prospect in baseball given how bad he looks against lefties.  And it's not just the numbers, he bails out way too early and clearly looks very uncomfortable facing LHP.  I follow the minors very closely but I don't get to watch the way some others on here do so not sure if he looked this bad in the minors.  He's still young so plenty of time to improve that part of his game.

[TopGunnar]

10 hours ago, wildcard said:

796 OPS vs righties before tonight's game.

For the #1 prospect and potential superstar that doesn’t impress me 

[Sports Guy]

I do think it’s fair to wonder if he was overhyped based purely off the idea that he struggles Vs lefties.

At this point, he doesn’t look like he should have been mentioned in the same breath as Carroll, much less be ranked ahead of him.

You see the talent and the upside and I don’t doubt him long term, just find it interesting that someone with that big of a hole in his game would be ranked ahead of others who don’t have something that big holding them back.

[Tony-OH]

10 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

It's all in front of you. You see that? The moon shots? The elite eye? Rocket throws? Blazing speed?

You have to look closely or else you'll get distracted by the inconsistency of a 21-year-old. But it's all right there.

I agree. The tools have been on display but he's going though some adjustments. Since May 13th, he's slashed .254/.302/.509/.810 over his last 63 PAs. 

Now those aren't eye popping numbers and of course we'd like to see the OBP move up, but Henderson was making some adjustments. He's going to be fine and will be a fixture with the Orioles for years to come.

[Tony-OH]

3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I do think it’s fair to wonder if he was overhyped based purely off the idea that he struggles Vs lefties.

At this point, he doesn’t look like he should have been mentioned in the same breath as Carroll, much less be ranked ahead of him.

You see the talent and the upside and I don’t doubt him long term, just find it interesting that someone with that big of a hole in his game would be ranked ahead of others who don’t have something that big holding them back.

The lefty issue was something I pointed out throughout his minor league career, but the good news is he's been pretty selective against them and although he hasn't hit them well in the majors, he has drawn 10 walks in 48 PAs giving him a .313 OBP against them despite batting just .132.

Whether he should have been the number one prospect in all of baseball is certainly debatable, and it would be nice if he got it going a little bit at this point.

He's slashed .226/.336/.407/.744 over his first 321 PAs at 21 years of age. You could definitely make an argument that he could have stayed in AAA a bit longing and worked on consistency, being more aggressive at times, and hitting left-handers before making his debut. 

But saying all that, the talent and eye is there to improve and while he may never be great against lefties, I think he'll end up serviceable against them and killer against righties.

[Sports Guy]

I actually don’t believe he looks overmatched Vs lefties. I haven’t seen him bailing out or flailing away. 
 

But I’m also not seeing him hit the ball that hard either.

[deward]

11 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I do think it’s fair to wonder if he was overhyped based purely off the idea that he struggles Vs lefties.

At this point, he doesn’t look like he should have been mentioned in the same breath as Carroll, much less be ranked ahead of him.

You see the talent and the upside and I don’t doubt him long term, just find it interesting that someone with that big of a hole in his game would be ranked ahead of others who don’t have something that big holding them back.

Gunnar had an OPS of .793 vs LHP in Norfolk last year, in nearly 100 PA, so it probably didn't look like as big a hole as it appears now. He didn't hit lefties in his call-up last year, but neither did Carroll. I suspect that Gunnar was getting the nod over Carroll coming into the year due to A) being a year younger, B) the ability to play SS, and C) better power projection due to being much bigger. I also wouldn't be surprised if some discount was applied to Carroll's AAA performance due to being in the PCL. 

Carroll has obviously gotten off to the better start this year, but that doesn't mean that Gunnar doesn't still have the potential to catch and surpass him over time.

[Hank Scorpio]

It's the combination of youth & strike zone expertise. 

[AlbNYfan]

I'm sure he'll be fine, but like all he has some minor flaws that are magnified because of his #1 ranking. I wouldn't call his speed "blazing" but it's very good. I think his fielding will improve, his throws have been all over the place. He certainly has a very good eye, but I think great hitters can take the close pitch, drive it and do damage. Both he and Adley have the ability to do damage, not just take walks.

[Aristotelian]

14 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I do think it’s fair to wonder if he was overhyped based purely off the idea that he struggles Vs lefties.

At this point, he doesn’t look like he should have been mentioned in the same breath as Carroll, much less be ranked ahead of him.

You see the talent and the upside and I don’t doubt him long term, just find it interesting that someone with that big of a hole in his game would be ranked ahead of others who don’t have something that big holding them back.

May have had something to do with the fact that he was playing SS with a reputation for strong defense there. But I have been somewhat disappointed with the defense we've seen. It appears Carroll is more of an Austin Hays level outfielder. 

[MikeAD]

99% of players don't just excel.  What separates replacement players from exceptional players is how they adjust and grow.  I'm going to give him more time.  He also hasn't had time at a consistent defensive position.  He most likely was over-hyped/ranked as well.  Lot of pressure on someone, especially when the team is in a great position in the standings.  At risk at sounding like a hippy, back injury this young could have a lot to do with mental strain/stress, hopefully he can make the adjustments.