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Former Morgan Academy shortstop Gunnar Henderson continues to close in on the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Henderson enters this week hitting .2560 with a team-high of 27 homers and 81 RBI in his first full Major League Baseball (MLB) season.

The 2019 graduate of Morgan Academy and Selma Times-Journal baseball player of the year,   Henderson is focused on closing the season strong.

Henderson, the Orioles’ second-round pick in the MLB Draft four years ago, was named AL player of the week in June.

“Feels like it’s a testament to the hard work,” Henderson said of the honor. “Just everything I had gone through at the beginning of the year. Just trusting the process and putting in a lot of hard work and feels like that has been the biggest thing.”

Baltimore entered the week atop the AL East Division and owns the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Henderson, 22, explained his success during the spring to MASN.com.

“Felt like it was just developing over the course of it and felt like (there were) about two and half weeks of swinging the bat well,” Henderson said. “Some of them went right at people. But the confidence was growing and I knew my swing was getting in the right place. Just put in the right work each and every day and the confidence was building and building and knew they would start falling pretty soon.”