One top prospect the O's should not part with

For the first time since they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2022, you hear fans open to trading one of baseball’s best prospects in Jackson Holliday.

I don’t have a vote or say here in anything and neither do fans, but I do have an opinion. And I still see Holliday as an untouchable.

While he may have lost his No. 1 prospect status with some outlets, that is fine. He did go 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts for the Orioles in April.

Once it started going south for him with the O's, it stayed that way.

He looked overmatched for whatever reason. This will sound like an excuse but some players coming up from Triple-A Norfolk agreed with an opinion that while Holliday was getting every pitch out of the zone called a ball against him in Triple-A with the ABS system, that changed in the majors. He seemed to be down 0-2 every at-bat. He took some pitches that may have been called balls by the computer but were strikes in the bigs. 

The bottom line for me is nothing that made Holliday the consensus No. 1 prospect, an electric talent with amazing maturity, is gone. It’s all still there. Delayed, not denied, as Buck Showalter said often.

In 10 games in July – before he homered in the first and second inning last night for the Tides – Holliday was batting .297/.469/.541/1.010. He had walked 12 times with nine strikeouts. For the year, back at Triple-A where balls are balls, he has 72 walks to 67 strikeouts and on OBP of .442.

For me, he’s still the future leadoff hitter for this team with his batting eye and speed. Then they can drop Gunnar Henderson to a more run-producing spot.

In a recent interview, Jim Callis of MLB.com and MLBPipeline.com said “Holliday is the same guy to me.”

“He is still 20 with amazing hitting ability and amazing discipline at the plate," Callis added. "He has power. I think the only question on him, tools-wise, is maybe the arm. He is probably more second base in the long run, especially with Gunnar (Henderson) there. A nice problem to have, too many position prospects.

“He is still the same guy to me. Yes, I was surprised, but he is the same guy. The other thing l like: The makeup is there. Comes from a baseball family and he knows what it’s all about and he’s mature beyond his years. I have no worries that Holliday is doubting himself. He is built right is the best way to put it.”

He sure is. Mature beyond his age. A five-tool talent. One day I say we will add him to the list of All-Star talents that struggled in the first go around in the majors.

I hope Holliday is not changing much right now. We have heard about small adjustments and tweaks he may be making at bat. Some questioned his leg kick, would it hurt him versus premium velocity? Well, it did not in March. And 97 mph in Clearwater, Fla., in March is just like 97 at Camden Yards in May or June.

Some might be doubting this 20-year-old now or thinking his upside is not what it once was said to be.

I say doubt at your own risk. The Orioles have some big decisions to make over the next few days. They may need to part with one of their very best prospects to get an October difference-maker.

Barring a big surprise, Holliday is staying.

O's win big: In the six games of the 1-5 homestand heading into the All-Star break, the Orioles hit three home runs. Last night they had three in five innings and hit four for the night in a 9-1 romp over Texas.

The Orioles (59-38) maintain a one-game lead atop the AL East over the Yankees as both clubs won Friday night.

Anthony Santander hit two homers and drove in five and Henderson produced his third-career four-hit game.

Righty Corbin Burnes became a 10-game winner cranking out his 14th quality start in his last 15 games. The O's rotation needed it. The starter's ERA was 8.50 the previous eight games and 5.52 since June 21, a time when the O's were 9-13 heading into last night.

Henderson with 28 homers, is third in the majors and Santander with 26 is tied for fourth. The O's are the only team with two 25-homer hitters.

DSL All-Stars: Three young O’s international players and one of their Dominican Summer League managers were named DSL All-Stars Friday. They are infielder Elvin Garcia, outfielder Jordan Sanchez, right-handed pitcher Henry Tejada and skipper Chris Madera, named as a coach for the DSL All-Star game.

The game pitting the American League versus the National League is set for Sunday.

Garcia, 17, was part of the most recent O’s international signing class and got a $500,000 signing bonus on Jan. 15, 2024. In 29 games he has hit .333/.470/.567/1.037 with 10 doubles, four triples, one homer, nine steals in 10 attempts and 20 RBIs. He has walked more than he has struck out, 22 to 20.

Sanchez, age 18 from Cuba, was signed Dec. 1, 2023 for $450,000. He has hit .340/.449/.631/1.080 in 30 games with 11 doubles, two triples, five homers, 28 runs and 30 RBIs.

Tejada, age 19 from the Dominican has gone 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA in nine games. Over 18 innings he has walked eight, fanned 16 and recorded a 1.11 WHIP.

Aberdeen's no-no: Four pitchers combined on the third no-hitter in Aberdeen IronBirds history last night as Aberdeen beat Wilmington 4-0. Righty Zach Fruit, their ninth-round pick in 2023 out of Troy, went the first 4 2/3 innings on 62 pitches. Lefty Deivy Cruz pitched 1 1/3 while Preston Johnson fanned five in two innings and Kyle Virbitsky got the final three outs on just seven pitches.

Aberdeen is now 13-9 in the second-half and 47-41 on the full year.

IronBirds pitching coach Jordie Henry tweeted this out of the postgame celebration and the players involved.

Click here for a look at Holliday's second homer last night and click here to see catcher Samuel Basallo throwing runners out for Double-A Bowie.