Orioles' Gunnar Henderson named among likely MVP candidates amid 'torrid' start

Q: What are Gunnar Henderson's chances of winning the MVP this season?

Gunnar Henderson is considered a strong MVP candidate due to his impressive performance early in the season.

Q: How are the Baltimore Orioles performing this season?

The Baltimore Orioles are off to a strong start, currently tied for first place in the American League East with the New York Yankees.

Q: Who are the other likely MVP candidates alongside Gunnar Henderson?

Other likely MVP candidates include Aaron Judge, among others mentioned by MLB.com.

Orioles' Gunnar Henderson named among likely MVP candidates amid 'torrid' start originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Baltimore Orioles are off to a strong start to the season, tied atop the American League East with the New York Yankees. And there's still plenty of room to improve.

But if there were one part of the team that's operating at full capacity, it would be Gunnar Henderson, who's back on the MVP track amid a great start to the year.

MLB.com's Will Leitch named a few likely and unlikely MVP candidates this year so far, and Henderson, amid a "torrid" start to the season, was named as one of the likely MVP candidates to steal the award from Aaron Judge.

Gunnar Henderson named as likely MVP candidate

"But he's off to a torrid start in 2026, tied for the AL lead in homers with six and even stealing three bases; could this be his first 30-30 season?" Leitch writes. "The Orioles look primed to contend this year, and Henderson is their best player. Imagine what his numbers will look like when Pete Alonso gets going, hitting behind him."

Henderson has been a name floating around as one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball, and that felt even more likely to be the case after his incredible 2024 season.

He put up 8.8 bWAR with 177 hits, 118 runs scored, 31 doubles, seven triples, 37 homers, 92 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, 78 walks, a .281 batting average, and an .893 OPS while finishing fourth in MVP voting.

More: Shohei Ohtani deemed more valuable than Aaron Judge in recent ESPN discussion piece

Now, through the first 16 games of 2026, he's put up 0.8 bWAR with 16 hits, 12 runs scored, three doubles, one triple, an AL-leading six homers, 13 RBIs, three stolen bases, eight walks, a .239 batting average, and a .911 OPS.

If the Orioles can be one of the top contenders in baseball this season, and Henderson can keep up his hot start to the year, he could have a good chance to win the AL MVP.

It's far from an easy task, with how good Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., and many others have been this season and in the past. But Henderson's hot start gives him a good starting point in the MVP race this year.