The Baltimore Orioles have enjoyed three consensus No. 1 prospects in MLB in a span covering just a couple of years.
A little over a year ago, catcher Adley Rutschman was the premier prospect in baseball together with Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
Then, after getting his feet wet in the MLB world last year, O’s infielder Gunnar Henderson opened the year as MLB’s top prospect on lots of lists.
Both of them have graduated and are an important part of the first-place Orioles.
But the pool of impact talent available in Baltimore doesn’t end there.
They have the current No. 1 prospect in MLB in shortstop Jackson Holliday.
Holliday was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk over the weekend.
“SS Jackson Holliday is being promoted from AA Bowie to AAA Norfolk next week. So 4 levels in 2023 for baseball’s No. 1 prospect,” O’s insider Steve Melewski tweeted.
SS Jackson Holliday is being promoted from AA Bowie to AAA Norfolk next week. So 4 levels in 2023 for baseball's No. 1 prospect.
— Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) September 4, 2023
Why is this relevant, you might ask?
It’s the fourth level that Holliday, still a teenager, will play in this year.
Four levels!
He opened the season in Single-A and had a 1.183 OPS there.
Then, he was promoted to High-A and posted a .940 OPS.
That earned him a promotion to Double-A Bowie, and he didn’t miss a beat with a .928 OPS.
Basically, the O’s have been trying to find a challenge for Holliday, and the minors just haven’t represented one.
We don’t even know if the player can make adjustments because he hasn’t needed to: he is that good.
He has hit over .300 at every stop, always with an OBP of .400 or more.
The sweet-swinging infielder will be in Baltimore soon.
NEXT: Top Orioles Prospect Already Looks MLB-Ready
