Jackson Holliday, baseball's No. 1 prospect, has been demoted to the minors by the Baltimore Orioles less than week from Opening Day roster. Through much of spring training, it looked like he was ticketed to serve as Baltimore's everyday second baseman, but any plans of that nature have been delayed, as Holliday has been assigned to minor-league camp.
In 15 spring training games, Holliday hit .311/.354/.600 with three doubles, two triples, two homers, six RBI, six runs and two stolen bases in 48 plate appearances.
Holliday, 20, is the son of former St. Louis Cardinals star Matt Holliday and was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft. (His younger brother, Ethan, is considered the early favorite to go No. 1 in 2025.) He played across four levels in his first full professional season, hitting .323/.442/.499 with 12 home runs and 24 stolen bases.
Orioles executive Mike Elias expressed an open mind earlier this winter about having Holliday break camp with the big-league team: "I don't want to put the cart before the horse. But he had a historic first full season in the minors," Elias told MLB.com. "Probably you have to go back into like the '80s or '90s to find something similar to that, in my opinion, for an American kid out of high school."
Here's what CBS Sports wrote about Holliday earlier this spring:
Holliday should not be able to exceed expectations. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, and his father Matt was a seven-time All-Star. He should be burdened with unobtainable forecasts. Yet Holliday has consistently bested the best-case scenario since his high school senior year. In his first full professional season, he blazed through three levels, closing out with an 18-game stint in Triple-A. There, he batted .267/.396/.400 with a 90 mph average exit velocity. He was 19 years old. All of Holliday's indicators, statistical and otherwise, are neon green. He has every tool and intangible necessary to become a star, even if he might require some time to upscale his power from the "gap" to the "over-the-fence" variety. (He needs to add more muscle and loft.) Given his demonstrated ability to overachieve, it would be foolish to bet against him making an impact at the big-league level in 2024. There is, in our estimation, simply no better prospect in the minor leagues.
The Orioles will begin their season on March 28 against the Los Angeles Angels.
