Jackson Holliday Wins 2023 Minor League Player of the Year Award
Image credit: Jackson Holliday is Baseball America's 2023 MiLB Player of the Year
For a second consecutive season, a Baltimore Orioles player is Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year.
Shortstop Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, is the 2023 Minor League Player of the Year. He follows in the footsteps of O’s shortstop Gunnar Henderson, Baseball America’s 2022 MiLB Player of the Year.
Holliday, 19, becomes the third Orioles player all time to win Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year. Catcher Matt Wieters was the MiLB Player of the Year in 2008.
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: Jackson Holliday Speeds Through Minors To Win 2023 MiLB Player of the Year Award
Dive deeper into Holliday’s season with BA editor JJ Cooper.
Holliday is the son of long-time MLB outfielder Matt Holliday. He currently ranks No. 1 on Baseball America Top 100 Prospects rankings.
Holliday also becomes the fourth player to win both Baseball America’s High School Player of the Year and MiLB Player of the Year, joining catcher Joe Mauer, outfielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
While most high school draftees spend their entire first season in Class A, Holliday blew through two Class A levels of Delmarva (Carolina League) and Aberdeen (South Atlantic League) by the mid-season all-star break. He began the second half at Double-A Bowie (Eastern League), and earned a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk (International League) in September.
Holliday led the minors in runs scored and finished fifth in the minors in on-base percentage and hit .323/.442/.501 for the season. He walked almost as much as he struck out. He’s proven to be a reliable and solid defender at shortstop and second base. He swiped 24 bases while showing off his plus speed.
Of the 23 high school position players selected with the No. 1 pick, Holliday became only the fifth to play in Double-A or higher in his first full pro season following his selection. The others include Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Harold Baines. (Catcher Mike Ivie was the fifth).
Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year has been a staple of our coverage since 1981. The goal of selecting the MiLB POY remains the same as it was in that first year of the company’s existence: We reward the best season by a prospect in the minor leagues, factoring age, level and projected future MLB value.
Over the years, the award has consistently highlighted players who have gone on to be among the best of the best it the major leagues.
Baseball America subscribers can read an in-depth story on Holliday’s development and his future potential.
A full list of previous winners is included below.
| Year | Player | Pos. | Highest Level | Organization |
| 1981 | Mike Marshall | First baseman | AAA | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 1982 | Ron Kittle | Outfielder | AAA | Chicago White Sox |
| 1983 | Dwight Gooden | Pitcher | A | New York Mets |
| 1984 | Mike Bielecki | Pitcher | AAA | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 1985 | Jose Canseco | Outfielder | AAA | Oakland Athletics |
| 1986 | Gregg Jefferies | Shortstop | AA | New York Mets |
| 1987 | Gregg Jefferies | Shortstop | AAA | New York Mets |
| 1988 | Tom Gordon | Pitcher | AAA | Kansas City Royals |
| 1989 | Sandy Alomar Jr. | Catcher | AAA | San Diego Padres |
| 1990 | Frank Thomas | First baseman | AA | Chicago White Sox |
| 1991 | Derek Bell | Outfielder | AAA | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 1992 | Tim Salmon | Outfielder | AAA | California Angels |
| 1993 | Manny Ramirez | Outfielder | AAA | Cleveland Indians |
| 1994 | Derek Jeter | Shortstop | AAA | New York Yankees |
| 1995 | Andruw Jones | Outfielder | A | Atlanta Braves |
| 1996 | Andruw Jones | Outfielder | AAA | Atlanta Braves |
| 1997 | Paul Konerko | Catcher/First Baseman | AAA | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 1998 | Eric Chavez | Third baseman | AAA | Oakland Athletics |
| 1999 | Rick Ankiel | Pitcher | AAA | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 2000 | Jon Rauch | Pitcher | AA | Chicago White Sox |
| 2001 | Josh Beckett | Pitcher | AA | Florida Marlins |
| 2002 | Rocco Baldelli | Outfielder | AAA | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 2003 | Joe Mauer | Catcher | AA | Minnesota Twins |
| 2004 | Jeff Francis | Pitcher | AAA | Colorado Rockies |
| 2005 | Delmon Young | Outfielder | AAA | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 2006 | Alex Gordon | Third baseman | AA | Kansas City Royals |
| 2007 | Jay Bruce | Outfielder | AAA | Cincinnati Reds |
| 2008 | Matt Wieters | Catcher | AA | Baltimore Orioles |
| 2009 | Jason Heyward | Outfielder | AAA | Atlanta Braves |
| 2010 | Jeremy Hellickson | Pitcher | AAA | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 2011 | Mike Trout | Outfielder | AA | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim |
| 2012 | Wil Myers | Outfielder | AAA | Kansas City Royals |
| 2013 | Byron Buxton | Outfielder | A | Minnesota Twins |
| 2014 | Kris Bryant | Third basemen | AAA | Chicago Cubs |
| 2015 | Blake Snell | Pitcher | AAA | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 2016 | Yoan Moncada | Second baseman | AA | Boston Red Sox |
| 2017 | Ronald Acuna | Outfielder | AAA | Atlanta Braves |
| 2018 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Third baseman | AAA | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 2019 | Gavin Lux | Shortstop | AAA | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 2020 | No minor league season due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | Bobby Witt Jr. | Shortstop | AAA | Kansas City Royals |
| 2022 | Gunnar Henderson | Shortstop | AAA | Baltimore Orioles |
| 2023 | Jackson Holliday | Shortstop | AAA | Baltimore Orioles |
