The Orioles are adding another gem to their already sparkling roster.
Just a few weeks after the start of the MLB season, Baltimore is calling up Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday night.
Holliday, 20, is viewed as a future star. He was widely believed to be on the brink of a call-up to the big leagues after an impressive spring training, in which Holliday posted a .311/.354/.600 slash line with two homers and two stolen bases.
He did record a 31.1% strikeout rate in 45 at-bats. But his exploits charmed the masses.
Round trip Holliday 👏 pic.twitter.com/e5n2OyT8w9
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 19, 2024
JACKSON HOLLIDAY WAS SAFE MY GOODNESSpic.twitter.com/Emk8SHn1ZQ
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 19, 2024
The No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday enjoyed a stunning run through the minors, posting a .323/.442/.499 slash line in A, A+, Double-A and Triple-A ball. He spent 10 games with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides to start the 2024 season, hitting .333 with two home runs, five doubles and 9 RBI.
While Holliday failed to make the opening-day roster, he’s slated to join former top prospects Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson in the hallowed walls of Camden Yards.
The Orioles are off to a 6-4 start after beating the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
Why did the Orioles call up Jackson Holliday?
Holliday has long been tipped for greatness, especially after racing through the minors with impunity in 2023. He added to the hype with a standout spring training campaign. However, O’s general manager Mike Elias claimed that he wanted to see Holliday show a little more consistency against top-level arms, specifically left-handers.
It didn’t take Holliday long to strut his stuff against southpaws. He hit .429 with a 1.375 OPS against lefties with the Tides. For what it’s worth, it was a small sample size: he only faced southpaws on seven occasions.
The O’s were always incentivized to call up Holliday sooner rather than later. By adding him to the big league squad, Baltimore can acquire a first-round pick via the Prospect Promotion Incentive, a mechanism which rewards teams with top prospects who reach a full year of service time and win Rookie of the Year honors. If Holliday remains on the Orioles for 172 days, he’ll attain full-year service time.
Baltimore is familiar with the process, having successfully acquired the No. 32 pick (and $ 2.84 million in bonus pool space) after giving Gunnar Henderson the reins at shortstop out of spring training.
When will Jackson Holliday debut for Orioles?
Holliday is slated to make his debut on Wednesday when 6-4 Baltimore takes on 7-4 Red Sox at Fenway. He’s expected to feature at second base, replacing 2020 first round selection Jordan Westburg, who is hitting .194 so far. He’s expected to build quite the partnership with Henderson — a rangy shortstop with an arm filled with fury.
Jackson Holliday contract status
Holliday agreed to a record deal for a high-schooler, inking a deal with an $ 8.19 million signing bonus after being selected first overall in the 2022 MLB Draft.
During his introductory presser, Holliday expressed his desire to make it to the bigs in “two years or less,” per MLB.com’s Zachary Silver.
Mission accomplished…
