Earlier this week, MLB Pipeline updated their top 100 prospects list. To the surprise of none, Baltimore Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday stayed in the #1 spot. The 19-year-old has taken baseball by storm, rising all the way to AA a little over a year after being drafted. Many young prospects have struggled as they make adjustments in the minors. Take Manny Machado for example. Machado bat .260 as a 19-year-old coming through Baltimore’s system. A player that young doesn’t often see double-A at bats this early in his career. Holliday not only gets these opportunities, but he’s showing no signs of discomfort.
In 18 games with the Bowie Baysox, Holliday is slashing .378/.446/.595. He’s had a very impressive season with the Baysox, but this past week may be one of the best performances we’ve seen from a prospect in a long time. In a 4-game series against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, he went 7-21 (.333 avg) with a 2B, 3B, and 4 RBI. Holliday also collected 2 walks, continuing to show his maturity at the plate.
On Friday August 11th, Jackson Holliday collected his 2nd 4+ hit game of the season. That effort was also his 8th multi-hit game since being called up to double-A. The question early in his career was “is he ready for big-league pitching?” after the 19-year-old came straight out of high school. Now the question becomes “when is this kid coming to the majors?” Holliday has made each level look relatively easy. Let’s take a look at his 2023 stats by level:
Low-A: .396/.522/.660 1.182 OPS, 14 games played
High-A: .314/.452/.488 .940 OPS, 57 games played
Double-A: .378/.446/.595 1.041, 18 games played
After his week, it will be hard for Mike Elias and company to keep Holliday in AA for too much longer. Look out for the kid to join Norfolk soon, and possibly join the major-league club for September call-ups. It won’t be long before the league’s top prospect becomes a household name in the baseball world (if he isn’t already).
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