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Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday moved up to No. 2 in Baseball America’s latest Top 100 Prospects rankings, released Wednesday. Three other Baltimore prospects cracked the top 50, while a total of eight are on the list.
Holliday’s ascension has followed a similar trajectory to Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, who both peaked at No. 1 in the rankings before graduating.
Holliday dominated Low-A ball to start the year, hitting .396 with an OPS of 1.183. Orioles minor league hitting coach Josh Bunselmeyer said Holliday had a good swing after being drafted No. 1 overall last year, but he wasn’t hitting balls hard enough and often made contact too high. That has changed.
“This year, he’s been a guy who has been hitting balls harder — and hard enough — and a little bit better ball flight,” Bunselmeyer said in April.
After a six-game series against the Fredericksburg Nationals, in which Holliday recorded three hits for four RBIs in one game, he was promoted to High-A Aberdeen. So far he’s posted a .331 batting average in 118 at-bats, belting four home runs. He’s mainly starred at shortstop but has gotten experience at second base, too.
Holliday made it to Aberdeen only 10 months after getting drafted, but he doesn’t want to be there long.
“Just trying to get out of here as fast as possible now,” Holliday said. “That’s the new goal.”
Whether Holliday reaches Double-A Bowie as quickly as he hopes is up to the Orioles, but he could reach the top spot in Baseball America’s rankings soon. The current No. 1 prospect, Elly De La Cruz, just made his major league debut for the Cincinnati Reds. A hitter must exceed 130 at-bats to be considered eligible for graduation from the list.
The next closest Orioles prospects to Holliday were Colton Cowser and Grayson Rodriguez, who were slotted No. 16 and No. 17, respectively. Cowser has led the Triple-A East Norfolk Tides with a .347 batting average and eight home runs. Rodriguez made his major league debut April 5, striking out five batters, but was recently sent down after a string of tough outings.
Jordan Westburg came in at No. 46. The infielder has a .988 OPS in Norfolk, competing with Cowser’s 1.074 OPS for a call-up to the majors. Joey Ortiz, who made his MLB debut against the Angels on May 18, moved up from No. 95 to No. 74.
D.L. Hall and Samuel Basallo were ranked No. 80 and No. 81, respectively. Hall, a pitcher, has made just one appearance in the majors this year, allowing five hits in three innings against the Tigers. Basallo has posted 41 RBIs in 182 at-bats with Delmarva.
Heston Kjerstad rounded out the Orioles prospects at the No. 84 slot. After getting drafted second overall in 2020, he was unable to play for the following two years after being diagnosed with myocarditis, inflammation of a heart muscle. But Kjerstad has quickly climbed the minor league ranks, starring for the Double-A Bowie Baysox with 11 home runs before recently being promoted to Norfolk.
anish.vasudevan@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Anish Vasudevan is from Cupertino, California, and is currently the editor-in-chief for The Daily Orange, Syracuse's student-run newspaper. He previously worked as a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers. Anish is interested in telling stories that expand beyond what happens in between the white lines.
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