03-24-2024 MLB Preview - Flipbook - Page 8
MLB ’24
Sunday, March 24, 2024 8
SEASON PREVIEW
ORIOLES
‘I’m as ready as I can be’
Jackson Holliday following Adley Rutschman,
Gunnar Henderson as MLB’s top prospect
By Jacob Calvin Meyer
W
hen the Orioles selected Adley Rutschman with the first overall
pick in the 2019 draft, he was seen as the light at the end of Baltimore’s rebuilding tunnel. That promise was true, as the ballclub
suddenly became competitive shortly after the star catcher’s
arrival in May 2022. About two months later, the Orioles still had the No. 1 pick
in the draft as a result of losing 110 games the previous year and selected 18-yearold high school infielder Jackson Holliday. Unlike Rutschman, Holliday’s nearing
arrival to the big leagues — potentially as soon as opening day on March 28 — isn’t
meant to turn the Orioles around, but rather to bolster what is already one of the
American League’s best teams.
Rutschman hasn’t wavered despite the
expectations placed upon him as the sport’s
top prospect. Gunnar Henderson, selected
with Baltimore’s second pick in the 2019
draft, took the baton from Rutschman and
handled the same pressure with aplomb.
Now it’s up to Holliday to do the same.
Like Rutschman and Henderson before
him, the Orioles believe the 20-year-old
top prospect will do just that.
“They’re all confident, mature, driven
players,” said Matt Blood, the Orioles’
vice president of player development and
domestic scouting. “They’re humble in the
right ways. They don’t worry too much
about the noise on the outside, and they
Holliday
signs
autographs
during a
break in
spring
training
practice in
Sarasota,
Florida.
just want to kick your [butt].”
The young talent the Orioles have accumulated is nearly unprecedented in recent
MLB history. Since Baseball America began
ranking prospects in 1990, only once before
these Orioles has an MLB team sported
back-to-back No. 1 prospects entering a
season. Baltimore is the first organization
to have three straight.
With Holliday at the top, the Orioles still
have baseball’s best farm system despite
several top young players no longer qualifying as prospects and a handful of notable
players being traded to other organizations.
“To still be the No. 1 farm system — even
Jackson Holliday’s level-headed demeanor, Orioles coaches and teammates say, is a credit
to his experience around the game at an early age. KENNETH K. LAM/STAFF PHOTOS
after you graduated Adley Rutschman and
Gunnar Henderson, who were No. 1 overall prospects, and Grayson Rodriguez, who
was the top pitching prospect at one point
— is insane,” said Jim Callis, who covers
prospects for MLB Pipeline, whose rankings also have Holliday in the top spot. “To
go from Adley to Gunnar to Jackson with
very little gap in between is crazy.”
Holliday is at spring training competing for a spot on the Orioles’ opening day
roster. It’s not a foregone conclusion he
will, as Baltimore boasts one of the deepest 40-man rosters in the AL. But his arrival
at Camden Yards will almost certainly
happen sometime in 2024.
Themiddleinfielderislessthantwoyears
removed from sitting in high school classes,
but after he soared through the minor
leagues to a degree not seen in decades, he
believes he can hang in the show.
“I’m as ready as I can be,” Holliday said
at the beginning of spring training.
At 19 years old, Holliday went from
Low-A to Triple-A and posted a .941 OPS
in his first professional season. The only
other American-born top prospect since
2006 to take a week’s worth of at-bats in his
age-19 season was Bryce Harper, and he did
so in his second full professional campaign.
Whether Holliday can perform throughout a full big league season remains to be
seen, although few are doubting the fivetool prospect. Despite his age, his teammates — from veteran catcher James
McCann to his fellow former No. 1 prospects — believe Holliday is mature enough
for the rigors of the big leagues.
“He’s a professional,” said Rutschman,
who debuted at 24 years old. “He’s fitting
right in. It’s amazing for how young he is
how confident he is.”
“He’s got a really good head on his shoulders,” said Henderson, who was 21 in his
Turn to Holliday, Page 9