Baltimore Orioles Shortstop Predicted as Possible Candidate for Monster Season

The Baltimore Orioles young star Gunnar Henderson could be the next MLB player to accomplish the same feat as Shohei Ohtani.

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The Baltimore Orioles know they have a superstar on their hands. 

The reigning 2023 American League Rookie of the Year, Gunnar Henderson has had another great season in 2024 and has been a crucial part of the team’s recent success as they prepare to enter the postseason for the second straight season. 

He currently leads all shortstops with 37 home runs, as the Orioles All-Star only sits three homers away from 40 on a season. If he accomplishes this, he would be only the fifth shortstop player in MLB History to reach the milestone, joining Alex Rodriguez, Ernie Banks, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Rico Petrocelli. After Thursday’s dominant win against the San Francisco Giants to avoid the sweep, the 23 year old picked up his 20th stolen base of the season. Only Rodriguez and Tatis have recorded 40/20 seasons at that position in MLB History.

As Henderson chases one milestone, it’s always fun to look ahead and predict what we could possibly expect from the young star over the span of his career, especially with the history being set in Miami on Thursday. Another superstar of the game, Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, became the first player in MLB history to record a 50/50 season. The Dodgers designated hitter went 6 for 6 at the plate, hit three home runs, and recorded two stolen bases to reach the historic milestone. 

But as the Dodgers celebrate and prepare for the postseason, possibly for a World Series matchup against the Orioles, MLB released a list of seven players who could be the next to reach the same 50/50 season milestone as Ohtani. On that list? Gunnar Henderson.

The Baltimore shortstop appears as the sixth player on the list full of superstars as a potential next 50/50 go-getter, and writer David Adler made a strong case as to why he belongs on this list. Looking at the numbers over the past two seasons from Henderson, it shows an optimistic trend that somewhat mirrors those of Ohtani’s in years past. “Those are the types of seasons Ohtani was putting up before he vaulted into 50-50 territory.” Writes Adler, and he isn’t wrong. The Dodgers two way star last year finished with 44 home runs and 20 stolen bases, near identical numbers that Henderson is putting up in 2024. 

A season with 50 home runs for Henderson would put him as only the third Orioles player to reach that mark. He would join Brady Anderson (1996) and Chris Davis (2013) in the team’s prestigious club. Only Alex Rodriguez has reached the 50 home run mark as a shortstop in MLB history. He did it twice when he was a member of the Texas Rangers in 2001 and 2002. 

As for the other side of the milestone, 50 stolen bases, he would join four other Baltimore greats on that list. Luis Apariciao leads the organization with 57 in 1964 and is joined by Brady Anderson (1992), George Sisler (1922), and Brian Roberts (2007).

However, none of those names above did both in the same season. 

That doesn’t mean the young Orioles infielder has the go out and hit 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in order to consider 2025 a successful season. Lets remember, Ohtani is the first ever in the game to reach this accomplishment. However, being mentioned as a player with the potential to make it happen shows that Gunnar Henderson has put the league on notice, and many believe that he is nowhere near the peak of his game.