He is one of baseball’s best prospects and has been playing very much like it this year. And now, after just 13 games to begin his 2023 season at Low Single-A Delmarva, the Orioles are promoting shortstop Jackson Holliday to High-A Aberdeen.

Holliday, 19, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, will play his first IronBirds game tomorrow night when Aberdeen begins a six-game series at Wilmington. The following week Aberdeen plays at Brooklyn. Holliday will make his home debut at Ripken Stadium on Tuesday, May 9 against Hudson Valley.

With Delmarva, Holliday was batting .392/.523/.667/.1.190 with six doubles, a triple, two homers, 15 runs, three steals and 15 RBIs. He ranked in the top three in the Carolina League in average, OBP, slugging, OPS, runs and RBIs. He produced three games with four RBIs each and on Friday went 3-for-6 with his first two homers of the season. He ends his time with Delmarva batting .429 (12-for-28) during a seven-game hitting streak.

Holliday, who turned 19 on Dec. 4, is ranked as MLB’s No. 10 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 13 by Baseball America. Last summer he became the third No. 1 overall pick in Orioles history, following Ben McDonald in 1989 and Adley Rutschman in 2019.

He became the first high school position player taken by the Orioles with their top draft selection since Manny Machado was selected No. 3 overall in 2010.

The Orioles, through 21 games, are playing .667 ball at 14-7. They are on a pace to win 108 games this season. It’s a pretty solid start, to say the least.

They are second in the AL East, 4.5 games back of a 19-3 Tampa Bay team, but 1.5 games ahead of both the Yankees and Blue Jays and three games up on the Boston team they host tonight.

Birdland has to be pleased with that start, which ties for third-best after 21 games in Baltimore Orioles history.

The Orioles started the year playing three teams that are all playing .522 or better ball right now in the Red Sox, Rangers and Yankees. They went 4-5 in those games. They have played four teams since that have not played better than .350 ball to this point. Against those lesser clubs, they cleaned up going 10-2.

O’s manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t see the schedule in terms of games and series they should win, he said yesterday.

After 2-1 and 5-1 wins the last two days over the Detroit Tigers (7-12), the Orioles can complete their first three-game sweep of the 2023 season with a win this afternoon at Oriole Park.

O’s pitchers have allowed just two runs and seven hits this weekend with five walks and 23 strikeouts. Right-hander Kyle Gibson allowed one run and two hits over 6 1/3 innings last night. He walked three and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts. Gibson is now 4-0 with a 3.60 ERA. The rest of the O’s rotation has combined for just two wins.

Highest Single-Game Strikeout Totals by O's Pitchers since 2019:

12 K: John Means on 5/5/21 at Seattle

12 K: John Means on 9/20/20 vs. Tampa Bay

When Jorge Mateo was with the San Diego Padres earlier in his career, he could not crack the starting lineup and get regular playing time. But he played in 150 games last season for the Orioles, and maybe all those reps are paying off now.

Mateo is off to a sizzling start at the plate and making a real difference for an Orioles team that already expected to see him play strong defense and steal bases. They knew they would get two of these elements, but now they are getting all three.

Mateo, who has missed the last couple of games with a hip injury, could return to the lineup today. He was in the original lineup yesterday but the wet field led to the Orioles making the precautionary move to sit him another day. 

When center fielder Cedric Mullins watches Mateo play, the O’s leadoff man sees a player he can relate to.

“When I first saw him as a player and his skill set, what he is doing right now is what I always envisioned,” Mullins said recently. “For example, I think me and him are similar in that power-speed combination. He provides great defense on the field. Able to steal bases. Everything that I do at my peak, I think he can do as well. To be able to see it all come together with his hard work is great to see.”

Friday’s 2-1 walk-off victory provided the Orioles with a 12-7 record and a fourth win in a row. If they can win one more this weekend versus Detroit (7-11) they will have four consecutive series wins.

They went 3-1 versus Oakland, 2-1 at Chicago against the White Sox and 2-0 at Washington. Overall the Orioles have won six of seven and eight of their past 10 games. They are now 5-3 at home and 5-2 in games decided by one run.

The AL East standings at this hour:

Tampa Bay, 17-3
Orioles, 12-7
New York, 13-8
Toronto, 12-9
Boston 11-10

New York beat Toronto 3-2 this afternoon via a walk-off win scoring in the last of the ninth on DJ LeMahieu's single. Danny Jansen's two-run homer had tied the game 2-2 in the top of the ninth for Toronto.

For Orioles rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, it was one very welcome sight. That was seeing his changeup with great movement and getting the swings and misses it got last Sunday at Chicago.

As he goes into his next start tomorrow at home versus Detroit – his fourth in the majors – he feels having that pitch be as effective as it was his last time out will be huge for him going forward.

When the Orioles selected Rodriguez with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas, he could throw with big velocity. But he didn’t have much of a changeup to go to.

On the O’s watch and in their player development system, not only did he develop a good one, but over the years it became his best secondary and helped him become the top pitching prospect in baseball.

He worked hard on it before that start at Chicago and then had it really going that day as, after allowing four runs in the first inning, he threw scoreless ball from the second through the fifth innings against the White Sox in a 93-pitch outing.

The Orioles (11-7) have a couple of streaks going heading into tonight’s game, a series-opener against the Detroit Tigers to start a six-game homestand at Oriole Park.

They are 6-0 this year in series-opening games and their pitching staff has thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the second inning last Sunday at Chicago. The team record for the Orioles is 54 straight innings without allowing a run. That was done by the 1974 team from Sept. 1-7.

The Orioles have their first three-game win streak of the season heading into tonight’s game, and they have won five of six and seven of their last nine games since the start of the Oakland series at Camden Yards.

Detroit (7-10) has a losing record but had won five in a row until Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Cleveland, which snapped that streak. Detroit has actually played more American League East games so far this year than the Orioles, but is just 1-8 in those games and been outscored 59-21. The Tigers went 0-3 against Tampa Bay and Boston and 1-2 versus Toronto. Their staff ERA is 6.75 and OPS against is .839 in those AL East games.

The Tigers and Guardians combined for 4 hours, 13 minutes of playing time in Tuesday's doubleheader. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the shortest major league doubleheader in which both games went at least nine innings since July 29, 1984, when the Cubs and Mets combined for 4:10. It was the quickest Tigers doubleheader in which both games lasted at least nine innings since Aug. 1, 1980 vs. Seattle, which also lasted 4:13.

It doesn’t have its own name like “Homer Hose,” in fact it doesn’t have any name, but Bryan Baker’s little backward dance off the mound Wednesday night after getting a strikeout in Washington had the texting on his cell phone pretty active for a while.

He said he heard quite a bit about it after he had pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to preserve what was then a 3-0 O’s lead. Using his changeup, which was on point in that game, he got strikeouts of CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas.

In the early going this year, the changeup has become a big pitch for Baker. It’s often been a big pitch for the Orioles as a pitching staff. Baltimore pitchers threw the second-most changeups in the American League in 2022. And this year, at 13.7 percent usage, the Orioles rank third in the league behind the Los Angeles Angels (14.4) and New York Yankees (14.2) in throwing changeups.

“I feel like I finally kind of found it against the Nationals the other day,” Baker said earlier today of his change. “Made a little bit of a tweak with my grip. But just need to maintain consistency with it. Kind of the hardest pitch to do that with, because it’s such a feel pitch. So, yeah, will just try to hold on to what I had the other night.

“The action was good. And it wasn’t too slow to, like, where I was telegraphing it and letting them know it’s coming, and sometimes I do that. Yeah, just try to maintain that going forward.”

As the rotation turns for the Orioles, it took a turn for the better beginning with the second inning Sunday at Chicago. Grayson Rodriguez allowed a pair of homers in the first and the Orioles were down 4-0 to the White Sox.

But they would rally to win that game and two teams have not scored off Baltimore starters, or any Baltimore pitcher, since. Starting with the second inning Sunday, the Orioles staff has thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings. The starters since that point have thrown 16 2/3 consecutive scoreless.

The back-to-back shutouts at Nats Park reduced their team ERA to 4.68, which is ninth now in the American League and still not as good the league average of 4.32. But trending up.

The Orioles doubled their total of quality starts from two to four in the series in Washington. They are 4-0 in those games. But they rank 22^nd in the majors with four QS. Boston, Detroit and St. Louis are at the bottom of the bigs with just two. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh have 11 and Cleveland is next with 10.

But the O’s hope their young starters are turning a corner and starting to lock in as they did late last year. Right now the rotation features Rodriguez, 23, Kyle Bradish, 26, Dean Kremer, 27, and Tyler Wells, 28.

WASHINGTON – He didn’t make the Orioles' Opening Day roster out of spring training as he hoped, but Ryan O’Hearn didn’t have too long to wait to make his Orioles debut.

On April 13, for the final game of the home series with Oakland, the O’s called up O’Hearn. The 29-year-old lefty hitter got the start that day, went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. You have a great memory if you remember the last player before O’Hearn to drive in three in his first game with the team was Jon Knott on April 17, 2007, at Tampa Bay. You have a great memory if you even remember Knott, who played in just seven games in his brief O’s career.

O’Hearn tried to make the club by swinging a hot bat under the Florida sun in March. He hit .375/.444/.650/.1.094 in spring training but began the year with Triple-A Norfolk.

But with the club about to face a series of right-handed pitchers he got the call.

O’Hearn said that based on his career where he has been often trying to make a roster or hang onto his roster spot with Kansas City between 2018 and 2022, he did not get down when he started this season on the farm.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles got one of their starting pitchers back tonight, and it was a welcome sight for them to see right-hander Kyle Bradish on the mound. He was activated off the injured list and pitching for the first time since taking a liner off his right foot April 3 at Texas.

And they got back the Bradish that pitched to a 3.28 ERA in his last 13 starts of the 2022 season.

Tonight, he threw six scoreless innings as the Orioles beat Washington 4-0 to sweep a two-game series by throwing back-to-back shutouts.

O’s pitchers have thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the second inning on Sunday versus the White Sox in Chicago. Their rotation ERA was 6.75 to start this series, but Bradish and Dean Kremer combined for 12 2/3 scoreless innings against the Nationals.

They also saw the home run ball return to their offense tonight, and that was a welcome sight as well.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles (10-7), winners of six of their past eight games and with a record of 3-1 on this road trip, can sweep this two-game series if they win tonight at Nationals Park.

Washington (5-12) allowed just a run and five hits in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss. The Nats, who began this series averaging just 3.88 runs per game this season, were held to three runs or fewer for the ninth time, and they are 0-9 in those games.

The Nats have lost five of six games, are 2-8 at home and are 0-4-1 in five series in 2023.

Right-hander Dean Kremer and three relievers teamed on the Orioles' second shutout of the year, joining their 2-0 win April 3 at Texas. Kremer, now 1-0 with a 6.16 ERA, went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just four singles and no walks while notching six strikeouts on 95 pitches, 66 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 25 batters in the series opener.

Speaking of series openers, the Orioles are now 6-0 in such games this year.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles are getting closer to gaining reinforcements for their well used bullpen. Manager Brandon Hyde said today he is hopeful that both Mychal Givens and Dillon Tate can begin rehab assignments sometime next week.

Both right-handers have officially been on the injured list since Opening Day. Givens is out due to left knee inflammation. He pitched in four spring games, allowing one unearned run in four innings. His last spring game was March 16. Tate, on the IL with a strained right forearm, did not pitch at all during spring.

Some already thought that Givens was a bit ahead in his rehab and might push up his return date, but now it appears both pitchers could return sooner than anticipated.

“Hopefully, both of those guys are going to go out at some point next week for rehab assignments,” Hyde said.

Hyde said timelines for the return of both are “pretty similar and it’s all going to depend on how they feel. And we’re hoping to get them both out of Sarasota sometime next week.”

WASHINGTON – When it was over, right-hander Dean Kremer said what everyone must have thought about his start to the 2023 season.

As the Orioles pitcher took the mound in Washington last night, the same night that demoted starter Cole Irvin was pitching at Triple-A, Kremer’s ERA stood at 9.49.

“Of course there are frustrations, anytime you come out on the bottom side and you see your ERA blow up,” he said.

For the first time this year he did something about it last night. Or maybe we should say for the first time he got the results he was looking for, throwing 6 2/3 scoreless on four singles as the Orioles held on to beat Washington 1-0.

The Orioles were averaging nearly six runs per game coming into this series, but you can’t outslug teams every night.

WASHINGTON – With an ERA of 9.49 and WHIP of 1.784 through his first three starts, O’s right-hander Dean Kremer was pitching nothing like he had yet during the 2022 season.

But on a night when he needed to turn around his season and give the pitching rotation a boost, he did both in the opener of a brief two-game series at Nationals Park.

Kremer pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Orioles beat the Washington Nationals 1-0 at windy and chilly Nats Park in front of 18,747 which featured a big number of Orioles fans.

In the first three starts this year, Kremer had an ERA of 9.00 and opponent OPS of 1.015 in the first inning of his starts. But tonight was different as he got a double play to end the inning after a one-out bloop single. He needed just nine pitches to get three outs.

That was a good sign and the night continued to be a big plus for him.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles road trip, which started with them going 2-1 against the White Sox in Chicago, continues tonight at Nationals Park when they play the first of a two-game series with the Washington Nationals.

The Orioles beat Chicago 8-4 Sunday after falling behind 4-0 after the first inning. But after scoring six runs there on Friday and Saturday, they added eight more Sunday and have scored 49 runs the last seven games and six runs or more nine times on the year.

The Orioles are 9-7 overall with a plus-7 run differential and they have won back-to-back series against Oakland and Chicago. They are 4-3 at home and 5-4 on the road and trying to go three games over the .500 mark for the first time in 2023.

The Orioles' .563 win percentage, if maintained over a full season, would result in 91 wins.

In the series at Chicago, they scored 20 runs on 30 hits with six doubles, two triples and two homers and they went 10-for-43 with runners in scoring position.

WASHINGTON – Orioles infielder Ramón Urías, who was hit in the left side of his head Saturday by a 96.2 mph pitch, is no longer in concussion protocol. He is not starting tonight, but could play in the series opener against the Washington Nationals.

“He’s cleared everything and that’s unbelievable,” said manager Brandon Hyde before today’s game. “From what that looked like and how that sounded. Such a scary moment. Passed all the tests, wants to be in there and is ready to go. I just want to make sure he feels right and he says he does. I won’t hesitate to use him off the bench, in a pinch-hitting moment or for defense late.”

The Orioles have still not announced a starter for Wednesday’s game. Right-hander Kyle Bradish is eligible to come off the injured list tomorrow and still seems likely to get that start.

“We need a starter tomorrow and we’re going to see what our options are after the game today,” said Hyde.

Hyde said "no" when asked if the Orioles would use a current starter out of the bullpen. 

If two hitting coaches can help the Orioles, maybe three can do even more. So far that is proving correct as the co-hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte are in their second seasons together on the Orioles staff. This year they were joined by Cody Asche, named before this season as offensive strategy coach.

The “three-headed monster” as Fuller calls it, must be putting in some great work as the Orioles offense is among the best in the game to start this year.

Fuller was a pregame guest Sunday on the Orioles Radio Network.

“Great start,” Fuller said of the offense on the broadcast. “Obviously comparing it to last year we got off to a slow start. We hit balls hard but they were right at people. Felt really unlucky. But this year we get off to a good start, and have a winning record, that is what we wanted to do. Start fast and go throughout the year. We’re really happy but at the same time there are still guys we are looking to get more production out of. Hard to get all nine guys going at once but that is what we are trying to do.”

And the numbers are impressive for an O’s offense that scored 20 runs over the weekend in three games in Chicago and has scored 28 runs the past four games and 49 over the last seven. In 16 games to date, the Orioles have scored six runs or more nine times.

Once Heston Kjerstad started hitting, he didn’t stop.

The No. 2 overall pick by the Orioles out of Arkansas in the 2020 MLB Draft, a player that went 27 months between his last college game and first pro game, he has been making up for lost time since late last season.

The myocarditis diagnosis he dealt with kept him on the sidelines for a long time and it took him time last year – he played his first game for Low Single-A Delmarva on June 10 – to get his stroke back. But now it is back with full force.

He was starting to really swing it late last season for High-A Aberdeen, then was named MVP of the Arizona Fall League. In the first O’s spring training game in March, he homered twice and then he went on to produce an OPS of 1.219 in big league spring training. And now Kjerstad, 24, has quickly, become a handful for Double-A Eastern League pitchers.

“Really, really exciting,” Bowie manager Kyle Moore told me Friday at Prince George’s Stadium. “Got off to the same start that he did in spring training and as he did in the Fall League. It carried over. He looks like a middle of the lineup big league bat. Knows the strike zone as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. That’s exciting.”

After taking the game on Friday night via a comeback win, the Orioles had leads four times in Saturday’s game in Chicago against the White Sox. But they lost 7-6 in 10 innings after gaining leads of 1-0, 4-2, 5-4 and 6-5.

The Orioles (8-7) have been at the .500 mark six times this year at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6, and it would become seven times should they lose today.

The Orioles are 0-2 in rubber match games, losing 9-5 to Boston on April 2 and 5-3 to the New York Yankees on April 9.

The Orioles have scored six runs in each of the two games in this series. They have scored 20 runs the last three games, and 41 runs the past six games. They have scored 86 runs in 15 games for an average of 5.73 runs per game. They have scored six runs or more eight times this year.

The O’s hit two homers on Saturday as Jorge Mateo and Anthony Santander connected on solo shots. It was No. 3 for Mateo and No. 1 for Santander. Mateo went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and is now batting .350/.413/.625/.1.038. He is one of four Orioles with an OPS of 1.000 or better, led by Ryan O’Hearn (1.371), and also including Adley Rutschman (1.075) and Austin Hays (1.045).