Orioles call up top MLB prospect Jackson Holliday

The Baltimore Orioles called up infielder Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, after a torrid start at Triple-A this season.

Holliday, 20, who was the top pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft, excelled in spring training but was sent to the minor leagues to begin the season. In 10 games with the Norfolk Tides, Holliday hit .333/.482/.595 with two home runs, nine RBIs, five doubles and 12 walks against eight strikeouts.

Holliday is expected to join the Orioles, who are 6-4 after a win against Boston on Tuesday, at Fenway Park on Wednesday.

Veteran infielder Tony Kemp was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

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. While there are 187 days on the baseball calendar, a full year of service is achieved at 172 days, which Holliday will reach if he remains with Baltimore for the remainder of the season.

The PPI has cut both ways for Baltimore. In 2022, the Orioles kept catcher Adley Rutschman in the minor leagues until May 21, only to see him win American League Rookie of the Year and be granted a full year of service for it while the team did not receive an extra draft pick. Last season, Baltimore broke camp with infielder Gunnar Henderson, whose Rookie of the Year win earned the Orioles the 32nd overall draft pick and $2.84 million in bonus pool space in the July draft this year.

Holliday is expected to play second base and team with the 22-year-old Henderson, now playing shortstop, for one of the most dynamic young middle infielders in recent history. Considered a potential first-round pick entering the 2022 season, Holliday -- the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday -- shot up draft boards in the spring after a bonanza season at Stillwater (Okla.) High.

He immediately proved worthy of the top pick, hitting .297/.489/.422 between rookie ball and Low-A, and followed that by excelling at four minor league levels last year, hitting .323/.442/.499 with 12 home runs, 75 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and 101 walks to 118 strikeouts in 581 plate appearances.

A left-handed hitter whose power stroke is expected to develop in the coming years, Holliday is nevertheless mature well beyond his age, having grown up in major league clubhouses and spent considerable time working with his father.

He joins an Orioles roster stacked with young position-playing talent, including Rutschman, Henderson, infielder Jordan Westburg and outfielder Colton Cowser, and comes from a Norfolk team likewise loaded with prospects, including third baseman Coby Mayo, outfielder Heston Kjerstad, super utility man Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers.

Baltimore's decision to call up Holliday comes after a spring in which he wowed evaluators, hitting .311/.354/.600 and looking like one of the best players on the team. Baltimore entered the 2024 season as AL East favorites after adding 2021 National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes in a trade for two top prospects from its No. 1-ranked farm system, left-hander D.L. Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz.