The Baltimore Orioles will call up shortstop and top overall prospect Jackson Holiday, the team announced Wednesday. He will play No. 2 and bat No. 9 in his MLB debut against the Red Sox (7:10 p.m. ET, streamed locally on fubo). Holiday will wear No. 7, the same number his father, Matt Holliday, wore for most of his major league career.
Holiday, 20, has looked primed to be on the Opening Day roster all spring. However, the Orioles sent him to Triple-A to start the 2024 season despite Holiday's stellar performance in the Grapefruit League. As of Tuesday's game, Holiday had appeared in nine games for Norfolk, hitting .342/.490/.605 with two home runs, four doubles and one stolen base.
Coming into this season, CBS Sports ranked Holiday as Baseball's No. 1 Promising Player. Here are some of RJ Anderson's articles:
Holidays should never exceed expectations. He is the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, and his father, Matt, is a seven-time All-Star. He must be burdened with unrealizable predictions. But Holliday has consistently beat the best-case scenario since his senior year of high school. In his first full season as a pro, he broke through three levels, finishing with 18 appearances in Triple-A. There he hit .267/.396/.400 with an average ball speed of 90 mph. he was 19 years old. All holiday indicators, statistics and other indicators, are neon green. He has all the tools and intangibles needed to become a star, even if it takes some time to build his power from “The Gap” to “Over the Fence.” (He needs to add more muscle and loft.) Given his proven ability to overachieve, it would be foolish to bet against him not making an impact at the big league level in 2024. In our estimation, there are no further prospects. minor league.
In three minor league seasons after being drafted out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma, Holiday hit .321/.452/.497 with 15 home runs, 39 doubles, nine triples and 29 stolen bases in 154 games. did. Holiday put together these numbers while primarily playing the premium position of shortstop and despite being much younger than his peer group in any given game. He posted a .954 OPS in spring training and then got off to a strong start in Triple-A, all backed by the highest ceiling of any candidate at the position, something the Orioles couldn't ignore.
Holiday's short-term role in Baltimore is still up in the air, but the presence of Gunnar Henderson (himself a very promising young infielder) at shortstop suggests that Holiday will be at second or third base for the time being. It might mean something. The Orioles have spent most of the season with Jordan Westberg at No. 2 and Ramon Urias at No. 3, with Ryan Mountcastle rounding out the infield. Whatever the details of his role, his bat and speed on the bases will certainly help an Orioles team with legitimate designs for the World Series.
Holiday joins a team that has a 101-win season and will win the AL East title in 2023. Baltimore is off to a 6-4 start this season.
In response, Tony Kemp was nominated for appointment.
