BRADENTON, Fla. -- Gunnar Henderson broke to his left, then dove to stop a grounder. He stood up, grabbed the ball from his glove and made a great throw to first base to record the final out of the third inning.
With that stellar defensive gem, the 21-year-old third baseman -- who is MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 1 overall prospect -- had accomplished his goal for his first Grapefruit League action of 2023. He had the evidence on his orange jersey and gray pants to prove it.
¡°Always want to leave the field dirty -- it means you did something,¡± Henderson said after the Orioles¡¯ 7-4 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday afternoon at LECOM Park. ¡°It was pretty fun getting back out there.¡±
Henderson, who went 1-for-2 with a first-inning single, made his spring debut in the fourth game of Baltimore¡¯s Grapefruit slate. It didn¡¯t come earlier because he had been dealing with some wrist soreness, which stemmed from the youngster ¡°taking too many swings¡± at the beginning of camp.
It was a precautionary decision for Henderson not to appear in the first few games, per manager Brandon Hyde. Henderson agreed it was the right move.
¡°Coming from the offseason, I took a good amount of swings, but getting down here in the heat and then your body wearing down a little bit and then just keep swinging a lot, that just kind of wore it down a little bit and it got a little sore,¡± Henderson said. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t really worth it to keep doing that and then go into the season not healthy. Got over it now, and I¡¯m ready to roll.¡±
There are plenty of prospects in the O¡¯s spring clubhouse who will be reassigned to Minor League camp in the near future. Not Henderson, who is projected to be Baltimore¡¯s Opening Day third baseman and will also get time at shortstop after his impressive 34-game stint in the Majors at the end of 2022.
But for now, Henderson is enjoying seeing a bunch of familiar faces from his time in the Minors -- even if some are battling for the limited available roster spots -- and getting a better glimpse at what the Orioles¡¯ roster could look like in the future.
¡°It¡¯s a bunch of great guys, pretty plain and simple,¡± Henderson said. ¡°We¡¯re all really fierce competitors, but we all love each other and we want to see the best out of each and every person here. So we all try to do whatever we can to help, and that¡¯s ultimately going to win us a championship one day.¡±
Bradish impresses in spring debut
Kyle Bradish cruised in his first start of the Grapefruit League season on Tuesday, retiring all six Pirates batters he faced over two innings. The 26-year-old right-hander threw 26 pitches (17 for strikes), then he went to the visitors¡¯ bullpen to get more work in, throwing an additional 13 pitches.
Bradish had his entire five-pitch arsenal working, throwing all of his offerings fairly evenly -- his four-seam fastball (seven times), slider (six), curveball (six), sinker (six) and changeup (one). His four-seamer averaged 95.8 mph and touched 96.3, per Statcast. The slider was his putaway pitch, as Bradish got both Canaan Smith-Njigba and Connor Joe to swing through one to notch consecutive strikeouts to end the first.
¡°Any time you go out there and you have five weapons that are working, it makes pitching easier,¡± Bradish said. ¡°But it is so early. There¡¯s still stuff to work on. So not going to look too much into this, but it¡¯s nice to have some success already.¡±
It was a strong opening statement by Bradish, who is trying to earn a spot in the Orioles¡¯ rotation after posting a 4.90 ERA in 23 starts during his 2022 rookie campaign. He¡¯s experienced spring competition before, and he¡¯s embracing it again heading into this season.
¡°I got a little bit of it last year. I had a longshot at making the team out of camp,¡± Bradish said. ¡°But my mindset was coming in and trying to make a name for myself and put it into the coaches¡¯ hands. I didn¡¯t want to do anything to mess that up. Kind of the same thing this year -- I¡¯m going to do what I do, and then it¡¯s up to them.¡±
Worth noting
? Terrin Vavra has recorded a hit in each of his first three Grapefruit League games. He singled in the fifth and finished 1-for-3. The 25-year-old utility man, who is competing for a spot on Baltimore¡¯s bench, is 5-for-9 with a double, a homer and four RBIs this spring.
? Franchy Cordero, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee, belted a 386-foot two-run homer to center field during the O¡¯s three-run sixth. It was the first home run of the spring for the 28-year-old, who is 2-for-6 with three RBIs in Grapefruit action.