Jackson Holliday debut: MLB’s top prospect goes hitless in first game for Orioles, tallies first career RBI

Batting ninth, manning second base, and wearing Cal Ripken Sr.’s No. 7 — worn with the permission and blessings of the Ripken family — Jackson Holliday, the top prospect in all of baseball, on Wednesday in Fenway Park made his major-league debut for the Baltimore Orioles. 

In keeping with established best practices, here’s the pre-game hype video for the 20-year-old son of former big-league outfielder and seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday: 

Moments before Holliday came to the plate for the first time as a big leaguer in what turned out to be a 7-5 comeback win for the Orioles, he started a smoothly turned 4-6-3 inning-ending double play to the benefit of O’s starting pitcher Cole Irvin. Here’s a look: 

Not bad a player who’s been primarily a shortstop for his young career and thus has seen limited time at second. 

Holliday logged that first MLB plate appearance in the top of the third against Boston starter Kutter Crawford and his deceptive arm action. He wound up striking out swinging on a 2-2 breaking ball from Crawford. Colton Cowser was, however, able to steal second on the whiff. 

In the bottom of the third, Holliday was unable to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a pop-up into the shallow outfield, which allowed the first run of the game to score. Holliday was not charged with an error on the play. 

Holliday’s next trip to the plate came in the fifth, against Crawford once again. On the second pitch of the at-bat, he grounded into a 4-6 fielder’s choice. In most contexts, it was a double-play ball, but not so with Holliday’s speed. The third time turned out to be a charm of sorts, as Holliday’s ground-out to the right side in the sixth allowed Cowser to score and thus gave Holliday his first career RBI. 

“I’d like to have gotten a few hits, but the overall experience was pretty incredible,” Holliday said after the game. “To go out there and win and have an RBI, I mean, it’s pretty awesome … I can’t ask for more, except for maybe, like, four hits.”

Following Jordan Westburg’s go-ahead homer in the seventh, the debutante pushed his line to 0 for 4 on a checked-swing strikeout. That ended up being his final line for the night. 

This, to state the obvious, does not diminish his near-, mid- and long-term promise for the O’s. Coming into this season, CBS Sports ranked Holliday as the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. Here’s part of R.J. Anderson’s write-up: 

Holliday should not be able to exceed expectations. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, and his father Matt was a seven-time All-Star. He should be burdened with unobtainable forecasts. Yet Holliday has consistently bested the best-case scenario since his high school senior year. In his first full professional season, he blazed through three levels, closing out with an 18-game stint in Triple-A. There, he batted .267/.396/.400 with a 90 mph average exit velocity. He was 19 years old. All of Holliday’s indicators, statistical and otherwise, are neon green. He has every tool and intangible necessary to become a star, even if he might require some time to upscale his power from the “gap” to the “over-the-fence” variety. (He needs to add more muscle and loft.) Given his demonstrated ability to overachieve, it would be foolish to bet against him making an impact at the big-league level in 2024. There is, in our estimation, simply no better prospect in the minor leagues.

Across parts of three minor-league seasons after being drafted out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma, Holliday slashed .321/.451/.497 with 15 homers, 40 doubles, nine triples, and 29 stolen bases in 155 games. Holliday has authored those numbers while primarily manning the premium position of shortstop and while being much younger than his peer group at every stop. A spring training in which he put up an OPS of .954 followed by his hot start at Triple-A — all of it backed by the highest ceiling among position prospects — led to his Wednesday call-up.

 Holliday is scheduled to make his home debut on Friday against the Brewers.