The Baltimore Orioles have been baseball’s most potent power-hitting team to start 2024, which has helped propel them atop the AL East next to the Yankees heading into their first series against one another Monday.
This deep group of young guns has produced the most comprehensive batted-ball profile through April, ranking as the No. 1 team in almost every advanced hitting metric from expected batting average to slug percentage.
So, who is really facilitating this kind of production?
There’s a batch of names worthy of mention, but no one is making contact quite like Gunnar Henderson.
Henderson might be the most aggressive hitter in the lineup, which has caused more strikeouts, but the reigning AL Rookie of the Year leads with nine home runs and ranks within the top 1 percentile in exit velocity.
It doesn’t feel as if Henderson is slowing down anytime soon; he collected 2.52 bases per game and is tied with Juan Soto as the No. 2 overall player in offensive WAR, according to FanGraphs.
His .613 slug percentage should give the Yankees’ pitching staff a handful in Camden Yards, where Henderson has hit .283.
Learn all you need to know about MLB Betting
- Read about the Best Baseball Betting Sites
- Learn all about How to Bet on Baseball
- Get the latest World Series Odds
Clarke Schmidt gets first honors for the Yanks in facing this O’s lineup. He primarily relies on breaking balls in his pitch arsenal, which Henderson owns a .708 xSLG against, according to Statcast.
Schmidt has gotten successful results in his starts so far, but he’s susceptible to high contact, which opens the door for bats like that of Henderson’s.
THE PLAY: Gunnar Henderson Over 1.5 Total Bases (FanDuel, -125)