No. 1 overall prospect Gunnar Henderson called up by Orioles

Update: Henderson made his debut on Wednesday after being called up. He is batting sixth for the Orioles. In the fourth inning, he hit his first career home run. Good thing he didn’t need that helmet.

The Baltimore Orioles are calling up their top prospect Gunnar Henderson, per Jeff Passan. Henderson was named the top prospect in baseball by Baseball America earlier this month.

The 21-year-old shortstop has been tearing up the minor leagues this season and will be eligible should the Orioles make the 2022 postseason. He is hitting .297 this year with 19 home runs with 76 RBI. Henderson figures to be a backup shortstop unless the Orioles want to get creative with their infielders.

Jorge Mateo is currently manning the six-hole for Baltimore and is another intriguing young prospect for the Orioles. Henderson could slide over and play either second base or third base, so it really just depends on if he can acclimate quickly to the big leagues. He was drafted in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Henderson is being called up from the AAA affiliate, where he was hitting .288 in 65 games.