MLB Executives Vote Orioles Top Prospect Best Hitter By Wide Margin

Baltimore Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday is the No. 1 prospect in baseball. There is little argument there between sites such as MLB.com and Baseball America, two of the most trusted when it comes to prospect rankings.

So, it is no real surprise that when MLB.com polled executives about the best hitting prospect in baseball that Holliday’s name came up. What WAS surprising was the margin between Holliday and everyone else in the poll.

The question was simple — who is the best hitter among MLB prospects? Holliday won. He got a whopping 70 percent of the vote.

The next closest player was Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio, who received just eight percent. After that it was Texas’ Wyatt Langford, Washington’s Dylan Crews, Texas’ Evan Carter and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero.

Execs don’t see a gap between Holliday and everyone else. They see a chasm.

Holliday was the Orioles’ first round pick in 2022 and has tremendous MLB bloodlines. His father is former Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday. If the younger Holliday needed more coaching, all he needed to do was turn to his uncle, Josh Holliday, who is the head coach at Oklahoma State.

But last season was his first in pro baseball. Coming right out of high school, one would expect a learning curve. If there was, Holliday bent it to his will.

Holliday was more of a transient in the Orioles’ minor league system, as he played at four different affiliates, wrapping up his season at Triple-A Norfolk and finishing the season hitting .323/.442/.499/.941 with 30 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs, 75 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He drew nearly as any walks (101) as strikeouts (118).

Along with a selection to the MLB Futures Game, Holliday was a Player of the Week in two different leagues — Carolina League and South Atlantic League. He was also the SAL Player of the Month in May and an SAL Postseason All-Star.

Holliday went to Major League Spring Training last year and was more of a guest. While he isn’t on the 40-man roster, he should get another MLB invite this year. The difference is that Holliday could be competing for a job on Opening Day.