DETROIT -- As the Orioles continue to struggle to gain steam, it’s natural to turn to Gunnar Henderson, who leads them in many offensive categories (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and more) to help light the fire. At the end of the day, though, the guy the O’s look to as they navigate a fierce divisional race and a postseason push is still just 23 years old.

“It's a lot to handle at once,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “There are different stages as a Major League player, and the first one, honestly, is survival mode. And to be in survival mode, but also try to perform at this time of year with a team that’s trying to get to the postseason, it's not easy.”

That’s a lot of pressure on a guy in just his second full season, but the way Henderson plays sometimes makes it easy to forget that he only has 332 career games under his belt. He’s also been training for this opportunity much, much longer than the five years since he was taken in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft.

“Growing up and competing instilled a great work ethic,” Henderson said just a few weeks after the O’s drafted him. “And then my mom and dad [taught] me to never give up and work your hardest.”

Thankfully, Henderson isn’t alone: A lot of the players Baltimore is leaning on to stay within sniffing distance of the Yankees in the American League East and in control of the top AL Wild Card spot are still too young to rent a car.

Henderson might be the focus of the O’s youth movement, but he’s certainly not the only fresh face on the field. He wasn’t even the only one in the spotlight on Sunday. Here are four other 20-somethings who crashed the party at Comerica Park as Baltimore fell in the series finale, 4-2, to the Tigers:

Cade Povich
The 24-year-old rookie’s 14th career start was one of his strongest. He struck out eight during his five innings and allowed just two hits. Unfortunately, one of them was a two-out, two-run homer to Riley Greene in the bottom of the third, and Povich took the loss because of it.

Other than the four-seamer to Greene that caught a bit too much of the plate, Povich dominated batters, drawing six swing-and-misses with the pitch and 13 overall.

“I think, honestly, every game I've been able to pitch in, I've been able to learn something, whether it's gone really well or hasn't done necessarily the way I wanted to,” Povich said.

Livan Soto
Soto, in his age-24 season, has appeared in just 32 career games, nine of those since he landed back with Baltimore in a July 30 trade with Cincinnati. Though he hasn’t had a consistent shot since he joined the O’s, Soto took advantage when Baltimore rested starting second baseman Jackson Holliday on Saturday and Sunday.

“[It’s] incredibly exciting,” said Soto, who logged hits in back-to-back games and finished the weekend 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. “That’s why I work hard every day: To be ready for the opportunity when it presents itself.”

Adley Rutschman
The “senior” member of this group at the ripe old age of 26, Baltimore’s catcher connected for a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning. It was the two-time All-Star’s 19th of the season, one off the career high he set last year.

The long ball came on a payoff pitch and helped Baltimore avoid the shutout.

Colton Cowser
Cowser, who’s 24 years old, also had a multihit game, finishing 2-for-4 with a double.

The young O’s, of course, aren’t the only ones making an impact in the stretch run, but how well they adapt and respond to adversity will certainly shape the club beyond this postseason.

How quickly they can do it could give Baltimore fans a lot more to cheer for come October.

“We know those young guys are going to come around soon enough,” hitting coach Ryan Fuller said. “... We would love to see the adjustments happen over one night, but it takes time, and we've seen that with Adley, with Gunnar, with the young guys who have come up. There's a little period of seasoning before you come out and you feel like yourself.

“Those guys, we believe in them. … The seeds have been planted, and we can't wait to see it come to fruition.”