Before the Orioles drafted him in 2019′s second round, Gunnar Henderson was committed to play baseball at Auburn. But in detailing how he’s handled the pressures and attention that have come with his status as baseball’s top prospect, he evokes Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
“Growing up,” Henderson said, “my parents always instilled, ‘Don’t let things get to your head, no matter if it’s good or bad. Just always keep your head down and just humbly work and don’t let all the ‘rat poison’ that people have go to your head.’”
The Sabanism, in which rodent killer is used to describe outside noise, doesn’t fully summarize how Henderson and teammate Adley Rutschman viewed their respective terms as the sport’s No. 1 overall prospect. Both players viewed that status with pride but said the most important response was not to let it go to their heads.
“It’s a really cool honor, just because for where you’re at at the time, it’s kind of the best place you can be,” Rutschman said. “But you want to make sure it’s not a distraction at the same time. Just take it for what it is.”
Rutschman, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, and Henderson have topped Baseball America’s list of the game’s top prospects the past two offseasons, becoming the first pair of players selected by the same team in the same draft to go back-to-back. The organization is well on track to make it three winters in a row, with Jackson Holliday, the shortstop Baltimore took with the top selection in last summer’s draft, rising to the top of MLB Pipeline’s rankings Sunday night.
This week, the Orioles will face the only player keeping them from another No. 1 in Baseball America’s eyes, with Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz the lone prospect the publication ranks above Holliday. With De La Cruz already in the majors, the mantle figures to soon belong to Holliday on both lists. Rutschman, a 25-year-old catcher, and Henderson, a 21-year-old infielder, said they would be available to the 19-year-old wunderkind if he seeks advice on how to handle what comes with it, though both pointed to Holliday’s maturity and his support system — notably his father, seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday — in saying they didn’t believe they would be needed. But not only was the elder Holliday never baseball’s No. 1 prospect, he also never cracked Baseball America’s top 100 during his time in the minors.
It speaks to the rarity and difficulty of topping that list.
“Not many people can say that they were the No. 1 going through the minor leagues,” Henderson said. “I’m gonna take that with me forever.”
Henderson skyrocketed to the position, going from the No. 42 pick in the draft out of an Alabama high school and climbing from beneath that spot in rankings at the start of last year to the top of most lists. Rutschman long seemed destined for it.
After winning College World Series Most Outstanding Player honors as a sophomore at Oregon State, Rutschman spent the next year anointed as the projected No. 1 overall draft pick. He said that experience — performing at an even higher level despite all the eyes on him — prepared him for what he faced as a professional, immediately deemed the face of Baltimore’s rebuild. Viewed as one of baseball’s best young players since he was drafted, Rutschman ascended to the top of prospect rankings entering last season. He’s lived up to the billing since; after a runner-up finish for American League Rookie of the Year, he’s potentially days away from receiving his first All-Star starting assignment.
“It was a cool accomplishment at the time, but I always had my goal set on being in big leagues,” Rutschman said of being No. 1. “You’re always pushing on to the next thing.
“It’s just acknowledging it and being thankful for that, thankful that people think highly enough of you to put you in that spot, but also understand that you’ve got to continue to grind, continue to get better, and not be satisfied with that and not let the, I guess, pressure in that dictate how you view yourself when you don’t perform well. Just focusing on the team, people around you, winning. The things that are really important.”
For that reason, the pair said they rarely discussed the distinction. When Henderson first received the honor in the middle of last season while with Triple-A Norfolk, he found out through a flood of tagged posts on Instagram, and Rutschman — already in the majors — was among those to send a congratulatory message, but it hasn’t otherwise been a point of conversation.
“When I was here, I just wanted Gunnar to be here, too,” Rutschman said. “Definitely just, ‘Congratulations,’ and that was about it.”
Much of the discourse surrounding their top prospect status came from external sources. Rutschman and Henderson emphasized that any player in that spot — Holliday, De La Cruz or otherwise — not allow it to affect what’s to come.
“We know that it’s just a number,” Henderson said. “Just don’t let it get to your head. You got there for a reason, so that doesn’t mean the work stops when you get there.
“You don’t want to just let that be where you stop. You want to continue to flourish and continue to get better and better.”
De La Cruz brings with him a Reds team that’s perhaps the hottest in baseball. Before dropping consecutive games over the weekend to the National League-best Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati had won 12 in a row to jump to the top of the NL Central. Since promoting De La Cruz earlier this month, the Reds have gone 14-4. Baltimore and Cincinnati are tied for the most comeback wins in the majors with 27.
The Orioles close a long homestand with the Minnesota Twins, who lead the AL Central despite a record that would have them tied for last in the AL East. Several former Twins populate Baltimore’s roster. Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and outfielder Aaron Hicks signed with the Orioles as free agents after stops elsewhere. Baltimore took starter Tyler Wells from Minnesota in the second round of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. Relievers Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe were seemingly minor trade acquisitions from the Twins who have emerged as key relievers for the Orioles.
Outfielder Anthony Santander’s offensive performance had been trending upward since a slow start, but it took off over the past week. Santander has homered in five of his past six games, hitting .385 and slugging .962 in that span.
He ended April 26 with one home run, a .205 average and a .599 OPS. Since, he has 13 home runs and is hitting .299 with a .939 OPS in 50 games played. He and manager Brandon Hyde credited improved timing on fastballs for his success, better allowing him to react to off-speed pitches as he did on Sunday’s home run. He entered Sunday slugging .638 on fastballs in that span, the fifth-best mark among the more than 100 hitters who had seen at least 400 of them, according to Baseball Savant.
Even the best players have bad weeks. Rutschman caught in seven straight games before getting Sunday off because Hyde felt he “could use a break,” ending his week 0-for-14 with six strikeouts and three walks. Hyde noted it can be a “challenge” to keep Rutschman from burning out, giving that he plays the sport’s most demanding position while having a significant role in Baltimore’s offense.
“There’s only a handful of catchers in the big leagues where they’re also hitting 2 or 3 in the lineup and are a big part of your offense,” Hyde said. “You just try to pick spots.”
To Hyde’s point, Rutschman entered Sunday leading all players who are primarily catchers with 70 games in those spots in the batting order; Los Angeles Dodgers backstop Will Smith was next with 52.
No. 9 prospect Coby Mayo continued his recent tear in Double-A Bowie, going 11-for-23 with three home runs, four doubles and four strikeouts against three walks — good for a 1.599 OPS. The 21-year-old third baseman entered Sunday hitting .364/.468/.754 since May 21 and is batting .313 with a 1.038 OPS and 14 home runs overall for the Baysox.
Reds at Orioles
Monday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Reds at Orioles
Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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