The Jackson Holiday era is about to begin in Baltimore.
The Orioles are recruiting the 20-year-old infielder from Triple-A Nork Folk who is MLB Pipeline's No. 1 overall pick, sources told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Tuesday night. The club has not confirmed the news, which was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Officials said Holiday is scheduled to join the team for Game 2 of the series in Boston on Wednesday.
Holiday, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB draft out of high school in Oklahoma, hit .333/.482/.595 with two home runs in 10 Triple-A games in 2024, leading to a career batting average. 321, with a batting average of .949. Minor league OPS.
Holiday played in just 18 games in Triple-A in 2023, when he reached all four full-season minor league teams. He had a chance to join the O's major league roster from spring training, but the team optioned him two days before the end of camp, and general manager Mike Elias announced the club would give Holiday more fielding reps at second base. He said that he would like to increase the number of players he has and gain more experience against strong hitters. – Rebel left-handed pitcher.
“He was great,” Norfolk coach Buck Britton recently told MLB.com's Melanie Martinez-Lopez. “He came in here with kind of a shoulder injury. He wanted to prove that what he did in spring training wasn't a fluke and that he was 'the real deal.'
Jackson, the son of longtime MLB outfielder Matt Holliday, would be an immediate addition to an Orioles team already loaded with talented young position players. Current American League Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson is the No. 1 prospect in MLB Pipeline in 2023, and Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman also held the No. 2 spot in 2022 when he debuted in May 2022. was. Further reinforcements are planned behind Holiday. Orioles hitting prospects Samuel Vassallo, Coby Mayo and Heston Jerstad are currently ranked in MLB Pipeline's top 30 overall prospects.
Henderson will play shortstop for the O's, who won 101 games this season and won the AL East championship, so Holiday will likely play primarily as a second baseman in his debut. Holiday could provide an offensive upgrade as the 2024 Orioles second baseman is hitting .206 with a .632 OPS.
Jordan Westberg, who plays both second and third, will get more time at third, while Holiday will get more time at second. Veteran utility man Ramon Urias has had a sluggish start to the season, going 2-for-22 in eight games.
There's no guarantee that the 20-year-old, who will be the second-youngest active hitter in MLB after Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio when he debuts, will be able to adapt to major league pitching right away. But Holiday hit everywhere he went, including in spring training in 2024, when he batted .311 with two home runs, three triples, and three doubles, and something changed in Baltimore. There is no reason to think so.
“This guy is just a super athlete, but he's amazing,” Britton said recently. “He interacts with you, he asks questions, he asks smart questions. His ability to quickly adapt to new things is really impressive and what sets him apart. He's great on the field and off the field. But it made me feel happy.”
One thing is for sure: Holiday's first game in an Orioles uniform will be one of the most anticipated debuts in recent memory.