Predicting the Orioles' offensive leaderboard: Will Gunnar run away with MVP honors?

The 2024 Orioles have one of the most exciting young offenses in all of baseball, led by superstars such as Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. Here's a prediction for who will lead this explosive Orioles offense in home runs, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, and stolen bases.

Orioles Home Run Leader: Anthony Santander

No Oriole has hit more home runs over the past two season than Anthony Santander. Santander has emerged as one of the better switch-hitters in the MLB, and has hit 61 home runs over the past two seasons. Also, Santander is playing in a contract year, adding incentive to put up a huge power-hitting season before hitting free agency.

Similarly to last season, Gunnar Henderson and Santander will be fighting for the Orioles homer crown. Both players hit 28 home runs last season, but they might aim a little higher this year. Expect these two players to hit close to 40 home runs a piece, with Santander barely getting the edge.

Orioles RBI Leader: Gunnar Henderson

Gunnar Henderson is an emerging superstar coming off a fantastic rookie season in 2023. Even after a slow start to the season, Henderson finished with the second most RBI on the team in 2023 with 82. Now, with a full season under his belt, Henderson is prepared to put up MVP numbers.

Henderson's path to leading the team in RBI is pretty clear. It looks like Cedric Mullins will get another crack at the leadoff spot (based on many of the spring training lineups), with Adley Rutschman slotting in at the two-hole. Those are two very high-level table setters that can get on base at a high rate for Henderson (hitting third). This is also not to mention that Henderson is an extra-base hit machine, racking up 66 of them last season.

Orioles Batting Average Leader: Adley Rutschman

Rutschman had the second-highest batting average on the Orioles last season, trailing only Ryan O'Hearn. However, O'Hearn was almost strictly a platoon bat, and he recorded roughly half the at-bats of Rutschman. Out of all the everyday players on the O's, Rutschman led the team in average.

Rutschman is a supremely talented player who is fantastic at limiting his swings and misses. He usually finds a way to put the ball in play , which is why he has such a good chance of leading the team in average in 2024.

Orioles On-Base Percentage Leader: Adley Rutschman

Not much of a shocker here. Rutschman is going to lead the team in on-base percentage. Out of all the qualified hitters on the Orioles, Rutschman had the highest OBP by a mile in 2023. He ended the season getting on base at a .374 clip, with Ryan Mountcastle being the second closest at just .328.

Aaron Hicks finished the season with a slightly higher OBP, but he played in only 65 games compared to Rutschman's 154. Rutschman has one of the best batting eyes in the league, finishing with the eighth most walks in MLB last season.

Orioles Slugging Percentage Leader: Gunnar Henderson

As mentioned earlier, Henderson racks up the extra-base hits. He recorded 28 home runs, 29 doubles, and nine triples in his rookie season, leading to a team-high .489 slugging percentage. Going into his second full season, it's hard to imagine Henderson not raising that home run total, which will significantly raise his slugging.

Henderson may have some competition in Santander, but Henderson will likely lead the team. Even in a season where he hit 28 home runs and had 41 doubles (the third-most in the majors), Santander still recorded a lower slugging percentage then Henderson. All signs point to Henderson repeating this trend.