The Orioles have a multitude of options with their potent lineup.
The Baltimore Orioles have one of the most talented lineups in baseball heading into the 2026 season, but one question still doesn't have a firm answer as Opening Day approaches on March 26 against the Minnesota Twins.
Who is going to bat leadoff?
First-year manager Craig Albernaz isn't giving anything away, and it sounds like he wants to keep his options open rather than locking one guy into the top spot for the entire year.
Albernaz Likes Flexibility
When asked about what his ideal leadoff hitter looks like in today's game, Albernaz gave a pretty open-ended response that didn't point to any specific player.
"It all depends," Albernaz said. "Depends on the hitter, depends on the pitcher, depends on the team we're playing. Depends on a lot of different stuff."
That tells you he's probably going to mix and match throughout the season depending on the matchup, which makes sense given how deep Baltimore's lineup is.
The Orioles entered spring training with three main candidates for the leadoff role in Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson and Taylor Ward, but Holliday is going to start the season on the injured list after breaking the hamate bone in his right hand, which narrows the race down to Henderson and Ward for now.
Henderson was Baltimore's primary leadoff hitter back in 2024, when he hit .294 with 31 home runs and a .941 OPS in 119 starts at the top of the order, and he spent most of 2025 batting third while still putting together a solid season with a .274 average, .349 on-base percentage and 30 stolen bases across 154 games.
Ward, who came over from the Los Angeles Angels in a November trade for Grayson Rodriguez, has been getting regular reps in the leadoff spot during Grapefruit League games this spring and has looked comfortable there.
Ward Is Fine Wherever He Hits
The 32-year-old outfielder set career highs last season with 36 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .792 OPS in 157 games while also drawing 75 walks in 663 plate appearances, an 11.3% walk rate that ranked ninth in the American League.
Ward doesn't seem too concerned about where he ends up in the batting order as long as he's in the lineup.
"Really, it doesn't matter to me. I mean, hit me ninth, eighth, I really don't care," Ward said. "I try to treat it like the same thing, just all the same. I like to keep it simple like that. So wherever Alby wants to put me, I'm good for it."
That kind of attitude is exactly what you want from a guy on a roster with this much talent, because there's going to be a lot of shuffling throughout the year.
A Loaded Lineup With No Wrong Answer
Baltimore sits at 8-11-2 in spring training, but the record doesn't matter nearly as much as how the roster is shaping up for the regular season.
With Henderson, Ward, Pete Alonso, Adley Rutschman, Samuel Basallo and Colton Cowser all in the mix, this is one of the deepest lineups in the American League and Albernaz has the luxury of plugging guys in wherever they fit best on any given night.
Whether it's Ward or Henderson leading things off when the Orioles host the Twins on March 26, Baltimore has more than enough firepower to make the top of the order work no matter who steps into the box first.