Batting ninth, manning second base, and carrying Cal Ripken Sr.’s No. 7 — worn with the permission and blessings of the Ripken household — Jackson Holliday, the highest prospect in all of baseball, on Wednesday in Fenway Park made his major-league debut for the Baltimore Orioles.
Consistent with established greatest practices, this is the pre-game hype video for the 20-year-old son of former big-league outfielder and seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday:
Moments earlier than Holliday got here to the plate for the primary time as an enormous leaguer in what turned out to be a 7-5 comeback win for the Orioles, he began a easily turned 4-6-3 inning-ending double play to the good thing about O’s beginning pitcher Cole Irvin. Here is a glance:
Not dangerous a participant who’s been primarily a shortstop for his younger profession and thus has seen restricted time at second.
Holliday logged that first MLB plate look within the prime of the third towards Boston starter Kutter Crawford and his misleading arm motion. He wound up putting out swinging on a 2-2 breaking ball from Crawford. Colton Cowser was, nonetheless, capable of steal second on the whiff.
Within the backside of the third, Holliday was unable to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a pop-up into the shallow outfield, which allowed the primary run of the sport to attain. Holliday was not charged with an error on the play.
Holliday’s subsequent journey to the plate got here within the fifth, towards Crawford as soon as once more. On the second pitch of the at-bat, he grounded right into a 4-6 fielder’s alternative. In most contexts, it was a double-play ball, however not so with Holliday’s pace. The third time turned out to be a attraction of types, as Holliday’s ground-out to the fitting facet within the sixth allowed Cowser to attain and thus gave Holliday his first profession RBI.
“I would wish to have gotten a number of hits, however the general expertise was fairly unbelievable,” Holliday mentioned after the sport. “To go on the market and win and have an RBI, I imply, it is fairly superior … I can not ask for extra, aside from perhaps, like, 4 hits.”
Following Jordan Westburg’s go-ahead homer within the seventh, the debutante pushed his line to 0 for 4 on a checked-swing strikeout. That ended up being his closing line for the night time.
This, to state the plain, doesn’t diminish his near-, mid- and long-term promise for the O’s. Coming into this season, CBS Sports activities ranked Holliday because the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. Here is a part of R.J. Anderson’s write-up:
Holliday shouldn’t be capable of exceed expectations. He was the No. 1 choose within the 2022 draft, and his father Matt was a seven-time All-Star. He ought to be burdened with unobtainable forecasts. But Holliday has constantly bested the best-case situation since his highschool senior yr. In his first full skilled season, he blazed by way of three ranges, closing out with an 18-game stint in Triple-A. There, he batted .267/.396/.400 with a 90 mph common exit velocity. He was 19 years outdated. All of Holliday’s indicators, statistical and in any other case, are neon inexperienced. He has each software and intangible essential to grow to be a star, even when he may require a while to upscale his energy from the “hole” to the “over-the-fence” selection. (He wants so as to add extra muscle and loft.) Given his demonstrated potential to overachieve, it could be silly to wager towards him making an affect on the big-league stage in 2024. There’s, in our estimation, merely no higher prospect within the minor leagues.
Throughout elements of three minor-league seasons after being drafted out of Stillwater Excessive College in Oklahoma, Holliday slashed .321/.451/.497 with 15 homers, 40 doubles, 9 triples, and 29 stolen bases in 155 video games. Holliday has authored these numbers whereas primarily manning the premium place of shortstop and whereas being a lot youthful than his peer group at each cease. A spring coaching through which he put up an OPS of .954 adopted by his scorching begin at Triple-A — all of it backed by the very best ceiling amongst place prospects — led to his Wednesday call-up.
Holliday is scheduled to make his residence debut on Friday towards the Brewers.
