Gunnar Henderson was in the race for the American League MVP award in 2024. However, the Baltimore Orioles shortstop is one of many players on Tony Mansolino's roster who struggled out of the gate this season. Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday are one of the best young cores in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, that comes with some serious growing pains.

Despite a rough start to their season, Henderson is confident that his team has started to turn things around. Entering Friday's series opener against the New York Yankees, Baltimore was 6-4 in their last 10 games.

Their recent stretch has the 23-year-old optimistic in the team's chances for the rest of the season. He spoke to Baltimore Banner writer Andy Kostka about it, saying that the team as currently constructed is on their way back to contention.

“We’ve been showing it the past weeks or month,” Henderson said about the Orioles' improvement. “We’ve kind of hit our stride a little bit. We still have room to go. But we’re making strides in the right direction.”

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Henderson's turnaround is not the only one that has him excited for the team's future. Holliday got hitting advice from his father and Rutschman has found his swing once again. When Mansolino's trio is playing well at the same time, Baltimore is a tough out, no matter what their record is.

Henderson got some good news concerning other players on the roster on Friday. Tyler O'Neill and Jorge Mateo are close to rehab assignments that mark the final steps in their injury recovery. Getting those two veterans back in the lineup would be huge for an Orioles team looking to build momentum.

Entering Friday's game, Baltimore was 11 games behind the Yankees in the American League East. However, they are just six games out of the final AL wild card spot. If Henderson's read on his team is correct, the Orioles have plenty of time to get back into the playoff conversation.