Where Does Injured Orioles Superstar Rank in Latest MLB Player Rankings?

The Baltimore Orioles are still without their superstar shortstop, but he is still seen as a top player in all of MLB by experts as the team awaits his return.

Sep 17, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) throws to first base during the eighth inning against San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles are humming along offensively, and they're doing it without their best player in shortstop Gunnar Henderson, a star who ranks as unquestionably one of the sport's most elite players.

Through five games, the Orioles rank first in MLB in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage and third in slugging percentage.

Those rankings could all potentially improve when Henderson returns to the lineup after recovering from his intercostal strain.

Henderson, currently on rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk, certainly looks ready to go. In four games with the Tides, he's homered twice while posting a 1.040 OPS.

When he gets to Baltimore, he'll immediately slot in at the top of the batting order and add fuel to an already red-hot fire.

If all goes well, he'll take another run at the American League MVP award that he was fully deserving of in 2024, but did not win due to the absurd level of production that Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals reached during the season.

According to Fangraphs, Henderson was one of five players to post 8.0 or more wins above replacement last year. At exactly 8.0, he would have led the AL if he had done it in 2023.

But if Henderson is going to take a run at the honor this year, he'll have to fend off Judge and Witt Jr. again. Judge is already off to a scorching start, and that duo are just two of the 13 players ranked ahead of him for 2025 in ESPN's latest top 100 player rankings.

At No. 14, Henderson seems extremely low, even when factoring in his injury.

"Possibly the only thing that could prevent Henderson from MVP-caliber production in 2025 is an injury, which is why the Orioles are treading carefully with his intercostal strain," ESPN wrote in justification. "The Orioles have a group of sparkling young position players, but keeping Henderson on the field is paramount."

As part of the prediction for each player that goes along with the rankings, Jorge Castillo went conservative in his projection.

"The Orioles don't rush back Henderson and it takes him some time to find a rhythm before he returns to form in May," Castillo wrote. "He makes another All-Star team, finishes in the top 12 in fWAR and flirts with a 30-30 season."

This seems pessimistic and bordering on disrespectful, especially given the fact that Henderson looks to be in form at the Triple-A level.

We'll see if the Orioles take a cautious approach in bringing him back, but the more he hits with the Tides, the harder it gest to keep him away from the club.