Getty Jackson Holliday during a the first inning of a 2024 Spring Training game.
There’s the alert Baltimore Orioles fans everywhere have been waiting for. Baseball’s number one prospect, Jackson Holliday is getting called up to the majors.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first with the breaking news.
BREAKING: The Baltimore Orioles are calling up infielder Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, a source tells ESPN.
“Holliday is expected to join the Orioles, who are 6-4 after a win against Boston on Tuesday, at Fenway Park on Wednesday,” Passan reported in his April 10 news report for ESPN.
Holliday, after missing the Opening Day Roster by the peach fuzz on his 20-year old chin, slashed a .333/.482/.595 line through his first nine games of the Triple-A season. He hit for two home runs and nine RBIs.
Holliday snatched the decision from the hands of Orioles management and made it for them, playing so well that they ran out of excuses to leave him in Triple-A with the Norfolk Tides.
The best player in the minor leagues is headed to the majors.
Orioles Take Gamble in Holliday Call-Up
After it was announced that Holliday wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster, speculation went rampant as to why Baltimore was holding off on calling up the top prospect.
Jacob Calvin Meyer broke down potential timelines and their repercussions in an April 2 column for the Baltimore Sun.
April 9 was not on his list. Likely because in doing the call up now, the Orioles are taking a gamble.
In not waiting until April 10 to call up Holliday, Baltimore rolls the dice on future draft compensation.
Passan echoed those sentiments in his news report.
“By calling up Holliday within the first two weeks of the season, Baltimore can reap an extra first-round draft pick through the Prospect Promotion Incentive, which awards teams with top prospects who attain a full year of service time and win the Rookie of the Year award.”
If a player wins the ROY award, they automatically earn a year of service time, regardless of whether or not they spent 172 days on the roster.
Therefore, a guy like Adley Rutschman, who spent less than 172 days on the roster but won ROY, got a full year of service time. But the Orioles didn’t earn an extra draft pick.
Gunnar Henderson debuted in 2022, but only had less than 60 days on the roster. So in the end, he was considered a prospect per the lists, and was eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive in 2023. He won the ROY, was on the roster all year, and Baltimore earned an additional draft pick.
Baltimore is banking on Holliday to win Rookie of the Year and earn themselves another draft pick by calling him up within the first two weeks of the season.
Where Will Holliday Play?
A big reason for Baltimore starting Holliday in Triple-A this season was his comfortability at second base.
That’s where the team envisions him suiting up for the Orioles in years to come, after he made his way through the farm system playing shortstop.
Passan reports that the expectation remains Holliday will play second base when he suits up for the pro club.
“Holliday is expected to play second base and team with the 22-year-old Henderson,” Passan wrote. “Now playing shortstop, for one of the most dynamic young middle infielders in recent history.”
It may not be in the April 10 game against the Red Sox, and it may not be nightly, but Jackson Holliday will suit up for the Baltimore Orioles this season.
For the first time ever, it’s a certainty.