Baltimore Orioles player of the week: Don't let Gunnar get hot

The summer is coming to an end and the temperatures are coming down which means it's the best time of year to get hot. Getting hot at the right time of year can make all the difference. We all saw last season how the Texas Rangers rode a heater all the way to their first World Series championship. With the regular season winding down, the Baltimore Orioles have been looking for that spark to help them get back to the World Series for the first time in over 40 years.

With the offense looking flat, Brandon Hyde made the move to put Gunnar Henderson back atop the lineup and he has responded as hoped. While he may not profile as a stereotypical leadoff hitter, Henderson has thrived in that very position. He's appeared in 142 games for the Birds this season and led-off 103 of them. Henderson has also hit in the three spot 32 times and been the cleanup hitter seven times.

Obviously Gunnar will have greater totals as a leadoff hitter but it's worth noting the difference in his slash lines as well. As a leadoff hitter Henderson is slashing .295/.375/.585 with a .960 OPS. In the three hole, he's hitting .254/.333/.421 with a .754 OPS, and batting cleanup he's at .217/.400/.391 with a .791 OPS.

Gunnar Henderson is leading the Orioles offense down the stretch

Hitting out of the leadoff spot, Henderson has returned to the MVP form he was showing before the All-Star break. He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games with four of those games being multi hit performances.

During the past week, Gunnar went 10-24 with one double, three homers, five RBI's and he's scored six runs. The only game in which he did not record a hit, Henderson blasted a 394 foot shot over the centerfield wall that would have been a go ahead three run homer had it not been for Jose Siri doing his best Mike Trout impression to bring the ball back.

So far in the final month of the season Gunnar is hitting .429/.485/.786 with a 1.271 OPS. It is the perfect time for the Orioles most dangerous weapon to catch fire and the rest of the league should have learned by now: don't let Gunnar get hot.