Jackson Holliday promotion: Orioles call up MLB’s No. 1 prospect for major-league debut

The Baltimore Orioles are calling up shortstop and prime general prospect Jackson Holliday, the workforce introduced Wednesday. He’ll play second and bat ninth in his MLB debut towards the Pink Sox (7:10 p.m. ET, streaming regionally on fubo). Holliday will put on No. 7, the identical quantity worn by his father, Matt Holliday, for his most of his major-league profession.

Holliday, 20, for a lot of the spring appear poised to crack the Opening Day roster. Nevertheless, the Orioles, regardless of Holliday’s stellar efficiency in Grapefruit League play, dispatched him to Triple-A to begin the 2024 season. Coming into Tuesday’s slate, Holliday in 9 video games at Norfolk had a slash line of .342/.490/.605 with two residence runs, 4 doubles, and a stolen base. 

Coming into this season, CBS Sports activities ranked Holliday as the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. This is a part of R.J. Anderson’s write-up: 

Holliday shouldn’t be capable of exceed expectations. He was the No. 1 choose within the 2022 draft, and his father Matt was a seven-time All-Star. He ought to be burdened with unobtainable forecasts. But Holliday has persistently bested the best-case situation since his highschool senior yr. In his first full skilled season, he blazed via three ranges, closing out with an 18-game stint in Triple-A. There, he batted .267/.396/.400 with a 90 mph common exit velocity. He was 19 years previous. All of Holliday’s indicators, statistical and in any other case, are neon inexperienced. He has each software and intangible essential to change into a star, even when he would possibly require a while to upscale his energy from the “hole” to the “over-the-fence” selection. (He wants so as to add extra muscle and loft.) Given his demonstrated potential to overachieve, it could be silly to wager towards him making an impression on the big-league stage in 2024. There’s, in our estimation, merely no higher prospect within the minor leagues.

Throughout elements of three minor-league seasons after being drafted out of Stillwater Excessive Faculty in Oklahoma, Holliday has slashed .321/.452/.497 with 15 homers, 39 doubles, 9 triples, and 29 stolen bases in 154 video games. Holliday has authored these numbers whereas primarily manning the premium place of shortstop and whereas being a lot youthful than his peer group at each cease. A spring coaching during which he put up an OPS of .954 adopted by his sizzling begin at Triple-A — all of it backed by the best ceiling amongst place prospects — was an excessive amount of for the Orioles to disregard. 

Holliday’s near-term function with Baltimore hasn’t but been established, however the presence of Gunnar Henderson — himself a deeply promising younger infielder — at shortstop could imply Holliday lands at second or third base in the interim. The Orioles have been operating with Jordan Westburg at second and Ramón Urías at third for a lot of the season to this point, with Ryan Mountcastle rounding out the infield. Regardless of the specifics of his function, his bat and pace on the bases will certainly support an Orioles squad that has legit designs on the World Collection. 

Holliday joins a workforce that is coming off a 101-win season and an AL East title in 2023. This season, Baltimore is off to a 6-4 begin. 

In a corresponding transfer, Tony Kemp was designated for project.