Gunnar Henderson or
Bobby Witt Jr.
SS • Age: 23 Bats: L • Throws: R
This Season
2025 Projection
| BA | R | HR | RBI | SB | OPS |
| .268 | 106 | 32 | 86 | 15 | .850 |
Rank (preseason)
Career Stats
Gunnar Henderson
| AB | BA | OBP | OPS |
| 1306 |
.268 |
.346 |
.850 |
Last 3 Years
| Yr | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OBP | OPS |
| 2022 |
116 |
11 |
4 |
18 |
1 |
.259 |
.348 |
.788 |
| 2023 |
560 |
98 |
28 |
82 |
10 |
.255 |
.325 |
.814 |
| 2024 |
630 |
117 |
37 |
92 |
21 |
.281 |
.364 |
.893 |
Key Splits
| | AB | BA | OBP | OPS |
| home | 661 | .266 | .333 | .838 |
| road | 645 | .270 | .359 | .861 |
| day | 481 | .262 | .351 | .833 |
| night | 825 | .272 | .343 | .859 |
| vs RHP | 952 | .283 | .355 | .900 |
| vs LHP | 354 | .229 | .324 | .717 |
| none on |
820 |
.274 |
.346 |
.858 |
| risp |
119 |
.227 |
.356 |
.835 |
| loaded |
26 |
.308 |
.344 |
1.036 |
| April |
178 |
.247 |
.340 |
.829 |
| May |
175 |
.217 |
.341 |
.821 |
| June |
189 |
.333 |
.403 |
1.049 |
| July |
196 |
.260 |
.333 |
.787 |
| Aug |
225 |
.262 |
.314 |
.781 |
| Sept |
312 |
.285 |
.346 |
.859 |
Who's Better?
DFS Leagues
Two of the most exciting players in the league, Henderson and Witt Jr. have a ridiculous amount of potential. Both are legit five-tool studs that are somehow still getting better. For an average daily contest on FanDuel or DraftKings, their salaries will be fairly close. Gunnar has more power overall while Witt Jr. swipes more bags. Those contrasting tools add to their respective daily values.
With regard to pitcher matchups, the one big factor here is that that Henderson is a lefty and struggles a bit against LHP (career BA/OBP/OPS of .220/.320/.700 compared to .280/.350/.920 vs righties). That's an actionable split... so, if a lefty is on the bump that particular day, think twice about going with Henderson. Witt Jr.'s splits against lefties and righties are almost identical.
Traditional Roto Leagues
Over the course of a full season, both these guys are solid first-rounders. Witt Jr. was already a top-5 pick in 2024 drafts, Henderson more often taken in second rounds. With Henderson's torrid start in 2024, he's likely to creep into the first round of most 5x5 re-drafts. With dynasty leagues, fuggedaboudit, both are top 3. We all know shortstop is a stacked position now (Trea Turner, Mookie Betts Elly, etc) but these two will be the cream of the crop for years to come.
Of course, baseball isn't completely an individual sport. A lot of the numbers put up depend on the strength of your lineup and the kind of protection you get. They both hit near the top of VERY stacked lineups. With Henderson, he typically leads off and Rutschman or Santander give him plenty of protection. Witt Jr. usually hits in the two-hole with Salvador Perez forcing pitchers to think twice about pitching around him. Top to bottom, both lineups have a ton of talent so their runs and RBI totals will always be above-average.
Bottom line, you can't go wrong with either guy. They're perennial All-Star shortstops with crazy high ceilings... and still filling holes in their game. If your team needs more steals, give the slight edge to Witt Jr.. Otherwise, expect these two to battle it out for MVPs throughout their careers, potentially as early as this year.
Related
What's your take?
