BOSTON — Jackson Holliday set a goal of reaching the majors in two years after the Orioles drafted him first overall in 2022. He beat it by four months.
The Orioles’ new second baseman arrived Wednesday, infusing one of baseball’s most decorated prospects in years into a lineup already stocked with young talent. Holliday isn’t the first consensus top prospect the Orioles have developed — they’ve been through this before with Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson the past two years — but he carries with him a level of hype neither of his now-teammates ever endured.
“I really enjoyed watching guys like Bobby Witt and Adley and I knew that they made it up to the big leagues pretty fast. So I knew that I would try to set myself on a similar path, and that was my goal,” Holliday said. “And if you give yourself goals, sometimes you reach them every now and then.”
Holliday, the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, is no ordinary prospect. He grew up in major league clubhouses, playing catch on the side of the field at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium and wowing onlookers such as ESPN reporter Buster Olney, who predicted Holliday would be an All-Star when he was 10 years old. He’s set to make his MLB debut at Fenway Park, a stadium that already has his signature inscribed within the Green Monster in left field. Among the people to reach out to congratulate him was 23-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, who grew up in Rodgers Forge.
Holliday’s quiet demeanor would never suggest he’s looking for the spotlight, but it followed him nonetheless as he rocketed through the Orioles’ farm system. When he arrived in Boston for his MLB debut Wednesday, a large contingent of national reporters awaited him in the dugout. His name was trending on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, hours before first pitch. FanDuel Sportsbook made an entire landing page for Holliday prop bets.
“It’s different,” Holliday said of his mentality now that he’s reached the majors. “It’s a lot and I feel like I’ve been born to handle that and to be here and play baseball for a long time.”
Holliday joined the Orioles less than 24 hours after wrapping up a game with Triple-A Norfolk. Manager Buck Britton called him into his office to break the news, kicking off a chaotic day of travel that included an evening of frantic packing, an overnight drive to Richmond and a 6 a.m. flight Wednesday morning. His dad had to call in a favor to get their family a ride on a private plane out of Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Nearly his entire family made it to the ballpark in time for the game. Matt and his brother Ethan watched him take batting prospect from behind the cage at home plate while Holliday’s wife, Chloe, his other siblings, his grandmother and “whoever else shows up” filtered in. Holliday got about three hours of sleep during the whole ordeal, and didn’t even lean on caffeine to keep him up. The excitement over the moment that had finally arrived was all he needed.
“It’s been quite a day,” Holliday said, “but I wouldn’t change it for a second.”
The 20-year-old, baby-faced infielder doesn’t have to bear the weight of the franchise’s future entirely on his shoulders, not when he’s joining a roster that already won 101 games and an American League East title without him last season. Manager Brandon Hyde hopes to get him comfortable by batting him low in the lineup — he’s in the No. 9 hole Wednesday — giving him a chance to play every day and lean on teammates who understand what it’s like to have immense expectations.
“I think it’s helpful to have guys in your clubhouse that have had similar experiences, especially ones that are so close to age,” Hyde said. “He’s comfortable here with, especially with our club, just because he was with the team so much this spring and he’s already been friends with a lot of these guys.”
Holliday’s arrival was delayed, in part, because of his lack of experience against left-handed pitching. Baltimore faced a string of southpaws to begin the season, and sending him to Triple-A Norfolk allowed him to get off to a strong start he can now build on as he steps into an everyday job in the major leagues.
His success in Triple-A, where he hit .333 with two home runs and a 1.077 OPS in 10 games, only served to fuel the cries of the fan base, and the baseball community at large, to call him up. Any concerns over the Orioles keeping him down for service time manipulation was dashed with Baltimore bringing him up with three days to spare.
“He’s obviously proven that he can play at the highest of the minor league level,” Henderson said. “It was only a matter of time before he came up here and proved himself at the big league level so, yeah, I know he was looking forward to it for a while and I’m glad that he’s here.”
With the saga of when he would finally get the call behind him, Holliday has the chance to cement himself at the major league level. There will be no escaping the expectations, but it’s something he’s decided to face head-on.
“A little bit, not too bad,” Holliday said of whether he was nervous. “Not as nervous as I thought I would be. I’m more excited, kind of changed the mind frame from nervous to excitement but yeah, really excited.”
This story will be updated.
