Baltimore Orioles Team MVP Has Been Clear Since the Beginning

The Baltimore Orioles have had some impressive campaigns across their team this year, but none better than their star shortstop.

Sep 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) reacts after crossing home plate following a first inning solo home run against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have had a fairly good season, but one player still stands atop the roster as the star of the franchise.

As Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic tried to come to a decision for the Orioles' Team MVP this year, the answer was clearly shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

"Corbin Burnes has been the experienced ace Baltimore needed. Colton Cowser is having a fantastic rookie season and is a favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year. Anthony Santander is on pace to hit a career-best 40 home runs. But, four months [after the last award handout], it’s still Henderson who remains the Orioles MVP," said McGrath.

There was a stretch this season where Henderson was in the race for the actual AL MVP Award, but both Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt ran away as the only two logical options.

The Baltimore slugger is still having a great performance of his own, though.

The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2019 MLB draft that quickly developed into one of baseball's best young prospects.

During his final season of minor league baseball in 2022, he slashed .297/.416/531 with 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases in 112 games. He was called up at the end of August that year and had a nice debut.

The Orioles have not had the best of luck in getting their star prospects off to fast starts in the MLB, but Henderson was a bit of an exception.

He started 2023 on the big league roster and had an AL Rookie of the Year campaign that beat out Tanner Bibee of the Cleveland Guardians and Triston Casas of the Boston Red Sox.

Delivering on most of the hype he built up in the minors, he had a .255/.325/.489 slash line with 28 home runs and 82 RBI.

The Alabama native has been better in virtually every category this season, avoiding a sophomore slump.

He has hit a career-high 36 home runs with a .282/.368/.538 slash line. He's led the team in WAR with 7.4. He ranks second among all shortstops and fourth among all hitters.

If Witt hadn't had such an insanely productive season, more people would be talking about Henderson's year.

He's one of baseball's budding superstars and should be a franchise cornerstone in Baltimore for years to come.

When paired with Adley Rustchman, Jackson Holliday and others, the Orioles clearly have the best young core in the league.