Orioles call up Jackson Holliday, baseball's top-ranked prospect

BALTIMORE (AP) — Make way for baseball's top-ranked prospect — yet another big addition from Baltimore's stellar farm system.

The Orioles called up 20-year-old infielder Jackson Holliday on Wednesday, hours before their game at Boston. Holliday was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of high school in Oklahoma and breezed through the minor leagues, narrowly missing out on a spot on the Orioles' opening-day roster last month. He hit .333 with two home runs and five doubles in 42 at-bats during a short stint with Triple-A Norfolk this season.

Holliday, the game's top-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is a son of seven-time All-Star and 2007 NL batting champion Matt Holliday.

Baltimore selected Holliday's contract from Norfolk and designated infielder Tony Kemp for assignment.

The Orioles are coming off a 101-win season in 2023 in which they won the AL East. Young shortstop Gunnar Henderson won AL Rookie of the Year honors, and catcher Adley Rutschman was the runner-up the previous season. Holliday is the latest star to come up through their impressive farm system.

Holliday hit .323 with an on-base percentage of .442 in 125 games for four minor league teams last year. He began the season in Class A and made it all the way to Triple-A. Then he hit .311 with seven extra-base hits in 15 spring training games for the Orioles this year.

He still didn't start the season in Baltimore, with general manager Mike Elias saying the Orioles wanted to give him regular playing time at second base in Triple-A before moving him up.

Baltimore's wealth of hitting prospects has been on full display so far at Norfolk. The Tides are 7-3 and have already scored 102 runs for an average of 10.2 per game.

Heston Kjerstad is hitting .409 with six homers and 25 RBIs, one of five Norfolk players with an OPS over 1.100. That group doesn't even include Holliday, who is at 1.077.

It will be fascinating to see how the Orioles (6-4) manage all this young talent, along with the big leaguers who led them to a division title last year.

The timing of Holliday's call-up is early enough for him to receive a full year of service time. The Orioles would receive an extra pick following the first round of the 2025 amateur draft if Holliday remains in the major leagues for the rest of this season and wins AL Rookie of the Year or finishes among the top three in MVP voting.

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