Gunnar Henderson 2026 Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Emerging Oriole Ready After Injury-Laden Season
Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson looked lackluster throughout many of his 154 games last year, hitting only 17 home runs with a .274/.349/.438 slash line. He started the year on the injured list due to an intercostal strain, and then had his worst hitting month in April when he came back. And though we didn't learn of it until early 2026, Henderson also spent roughly 75% of the season pushing through a shoulder impingement that sapped his power. His .276 xBA was close to 2024's .279 mark, but the xSLG fell 74 points, with most of that coming out of his performance against breaking pitches. It would've been nice to have all of the information as he was slogging through the lesser output in '25, that's all. And it wasn't all bad, as he continued to grow on the basepaths. After only 10 steals in 2023 and 21 in '24, he jumped up to 30 on 35 attempts last year. The market, as well as we, believe he's 100% now, which explains the RotoBaller rank and ADP sitting in the early second round. Preliminary ATC projections are giving him 26 HRs, 24 SBs, and a .271 average, next to about 180 R+RBI over 153 games. And there's plenty of room for growth beyond that, given the 37 HRs in '24, reaching 30 steals in '25, and he'll turn just 25 in late June.
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