Orioles Continue Unprecedented Run Of No. 1 MLB Prospects
Image credit: Jackson Holliday is Baseball America's 2023 MiLB Player of the Year. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
There are 13 MLB teams who have never had a prospect rank No. 1 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list in the 35-year history of the list. Only nine teams have had players lead the list in multiple years, so to have players lead the Top 100 in back-to-back years is quite rare.
That makes the Orioles current run of prospect success hard to imagine.
The Baltimore Orioles have now had the No. 1 prospect in baseball for three consecutive years. Catcher Adley Rutschman led the rankings in 2022. Shortstop/third baseman Gunnar Henderson topped the list in 2023 and now shortstop/second baseman Jackson Holliday is No. 1 on the 2024 Top 100 Prospects list.
To say this is unprecedented is an understatement. Only four teams have had three or more No. 1 prospects. The Braves have had six, the Orioles and Rays have had four and the Twins have had three.
There have been multiple players (Andruw Jones, Joe Mauer, Bryce Harper and Wander Franco) who led the Top 100 Prospects list in back-to-back years. But when it comes to a team having different players rank No. 1 in back-to-back years, the Cardinals were the only team before this Orioles grouping to have back-to-back No. 1’s (J.D. Drew was No. 1 in 1999 and Rick Ankiel was No. 1 in 2000).
“It’s exciting for the organization and the future. It speaks to the good health and synergy of our player acquisition and player development departments. It also says a lot about those players. They bought in and put in a lot of hard work to rise to that level and then maintain it,” said Matt Blood, the Orioles Vice President for Player Development and Domestic Scouting.
Could the Orioles go four for four? Catcher Samuel Basallo is already in the top 10 and is unlikely to graduate in 2024.
| Team | No. 1s | No. 1 prospects |
| Braves | 6 | Steve Avery, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones (2 times), Jason Heyward, Ronald Acuna |
| Orioles | 4 | Matt Wieters, Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday |
| Rays | 4 | Josh Hamilton, Delmon Young, Wander Franco (2) |
| Twins | 3 | Joe Mauer (2), Byron Buxton |
| Athletics | 2 | Todd Van Poppel, Ben Grieve |
| Cardinals | 2 | J.D. Drew, Rick Ankiel |
| Nationals | 2 | Bryce Harper (2) |
| Rangers | 2 | Mark Teixeira, Jurickson Profar |
| Red Sox | 2 | Daisuke Matsuzaka, Andrew Benintendi |
