Report: Orioles Call Up Jackson Holliday To Major Leagues
Image credit: Jackson Holliday (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
While Jackson Holliday didn’t make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, it appears his stay in Norfolk was exceptionally brief. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Jackson Holliday is headed to the major leagues.
Holliday, Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect on the Top 100 as well as Baseball America’s 2023 Minor League Player of the Year, was hitting .333/.482/.595 for Triple-A Norfolk in 10 games. Holliday was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft as well as Baseball America’s 2022 High School Player of the Year.
Holliday’s promotion comes after he the past week and a half in the minors playing second base, which is expected to become his primary position in the majors. The Orioles also wanted him to get some at-bats against lefthanders. In 11 plate appearances against lefties so far this season, he was 4-for-10 with two doubles, a home run and a sacrifice fly for a .400/.364/.900 slash line. He had not struck out against a lefty.
Because he’s coming up so quickly, he will be eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive, which means the Orioles will receive a bonus draft pick if he wins the American League Rookie of the Year. A player must reach 172 days of service to be eligible for PPI. If he is active tomorrow and stays up for the remainder of the season, he will have 173 days of service.
If Holliday were to win American League Rookie of the Year this year, then the Orioles receive a PPI draft pick after the first round of the 2025 draft.
Baltimore would have two more chances to add a pick even if Holliday fails to win ROY. A top three finish in MVP voting in 2025 or 2026 would also trigger a PPI draft pick.
The Orioles could have kept Holliday at Triple-A for a few additional days and gained an additional year of club control. While that must have been tempting, the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement disincentives teams from manipulating service for elite prospects.
Any player who finishes first or second in Rookie of the Year voting is awarded one year of MLB service, no matter when he was called up.
Holliday is so talented that he could have been called up in May or maybe even June and would still be a threat to finish first or second for the ROY award.
If Holliday receives one year of MLB service, then the Orioles would be best served to receive one year of MLB production.
The son of long-time big leaguer Matt Holliday, Jackson will make his MLB debut as a 20-year-old. He’ll become the youngest player in the American League and the second youngest player in the major leagues (Jackson Chourio is younger). He is the youngest Oriole to debut since Dylan Bundy in Sept. 2012 and the youngest Orioles position player since Manny Machado arrived in August 2012.
Here’s more on Holliday’s promotion and what to expect from Baseball America’s YouTube channel.
