Orioles Send Baseball’s Top Prospect to Minor Leagues
Jackson Holliday played well this spring. However, the player considered the top prospect in baseball did not play well enough to make the Baltimore Orioles’ opening-day roster.
The Orioles reassigned Holliday to their minor-league camp on March 22. The 20-year-old is expected to begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk, where he finished last season.
Jackson Holliday was 14 for 45 in Grapefruit League play for a .311 batting average. The first overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft also had two home runs, six RBIs, two stolen bases, a .354 on-base percentage and a .954 OPS.
It had been widely expected that Holliday would be the Orioles’ second baseman when they are scheduled to open their season on March 28 by hosting the Los Angeles Angels. Instead, Holliday will go back to the minors.
Orioles GM Feels Holliday Needs More Seasoning
Holliday was Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year last season. Every major media outlet ranks him as the No. 1 prospect in the sport.
However, Orioles general manager Mike Elias feels Holliday needs more minor-league seasoning.
“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 reporters at the Orioles’ spring training camp in Sarasota, Fla., including MLB.com Jake Rill.
“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.”
