Jackson Holliday Update: Orioles set to promote their No.1 prospect to MLB
MLB Pipeline's No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday is set to get promoted to the Baltimore Orioles roster, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. A strong Spring followed by great minor league outings played a part in his promotion.
In his 42 plate appearances with AAA Norfolk, Holliday is hitting .333 with two home runs, nine RBIs and 14 runs scored. Earlier in Spring Training, he batted .311 with two home runs, three doubles, two triples and six RBIs across 15 games.
In the minors, he juggled between second base and shortstop position. On the offensive front, he hit from the leadoff spot.
"He's very, very close," Orioles General Manager Mike Elias said earlier. "He's very ahead of schedule. He's done remarkably well. We couldn't be more excited about his future. But you're talking about the development of a player who has the opportunity to be one of the better, if not best, players in the league."
Holliday joins Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and other exciting young talent at Camden Yards.
The O's are in Boston for a three-game series. Holliday could make his debut against the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend.
Orioles GM reasons why Jackson Holliday didn't make Opening Day roster
There were good sentiments around the league about the top prospect to be on the Orioles' Opening Day roster. However, Holliday couldn't make the cut and instead was reassigned to AAA.
Elias termed development and experience as the major reasons behind the decision:
"This is about an organization that prides itself on developing elite talents, putting a player in the best position for his own long-term success and for the short and long-term success of the team and the roster that he's on," Elias told Orioles.com.
"This is a 20-year-old that has played 18 games in Triple-A and is also in a position change and has not faced or had the opportunity to produce a ton against upper-level minor league left-handed pitching in particular. This is where we've landed for now."
Be that as it may, Orioles fans are finally going to see Jackson Holliday hit in their batting lineup.