[Baltimore Sun] Orioles’ Jackson Holliday falls below Nationals prospect James Wood in Baseball America’s latest top 100 ranking
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SEATTLE — For the second time this season, a top prospect has debuted and subsequently jumped Jackson Holliday on Baseball America’s ranking.
The publication updated its top 100 list Wednesday with Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood at No. 1 after the Rockville native debuted Monday. Holliday, the Orioles’ top prospect who was No. 1 on Baseball America’s preseason list, is second.
In June, Holliday was leapfrogged by Pittsburgh Pirates fireballer Paul Skenes after his dominant debut in May. Skenes has since graduated from prospect status, eclipsing 50 innings this year.
Wood being ranked ahead of Holliday says more about the former than the latter. The 21-year-old is perhaps the best all-around hitting prospect in baseball. He was slashing .353/.463/.595 — good for a whopping 1.058 OPS — with Triple-A Rochester before his call-up.
Holliday is still ranked No. 1 on MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs’ top 100 lists.
However, this spring, it was expected Holliday would no longer be on prospect lists. After a historic 2023 campaign in which he jumped from Low-A to Triple-A at just 19 years old, the middle infielder impressed during spring training and was a strong candidate to break camp in the majors.
He didn’t, but after a scorching-hot start with Triple-A Norfolk, he made his long-awaited MLB debut in mid-April — a short-lived stint. Holliday slumped at the plate, starting 0-for-13 before his first hit and then going 0-for-17 before his next hit. He was optioned to the minors after a little more than two weeks in the show.
“He’s ultimately going to be better off for it,” Mike Elias said after Holliday’s demotion. “Once it became clear to me that he would benefit better from going back to Triple-A — resetting his head, first and foremost, but also making some adjustments at the plate — wanted to do it as quickly as possible.”
The 20-year-old has since made some subtle changes to his batting stance and has hit well, but he hasn’t been as dominant as before his promotion. He’s hitting .253 and slugging .434 — numbers below what’s expected given his plus-hitting tools. However, he’s walking just as much as he’s striking out after that imbalance during his big league stint (two walks versus 18 strikeouts) was a concern.
Holliday, the No. 1 draft pick in 2022, is currently only hitting and not playing the field as he recovers from a minor elbow injury. It’s likely he will get back to playing the field later this month and could put himself in line for another call-up as the Orioles push to defend their American League East title. But Holliday isn’t the only one hoping for that.
Orioles prospect Coby Mayo, who has been on a tear at Triple-A Norfolk, is now Baseball America’s No. 12 prospect. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff)
Corner infield prospect Coby Mayo jumped once again in Baseball America’s rankings as he continues to dominate Triple-A pitching. Mayo was ranked at No. 25 in the preseason, jumped to No. 17 last month and is now at No. 12. He entered Thursday with an impressive .305/.380/.624 slash line — good for a 1.004 OPS. The 22-year-old has 18 home runs in 56 games, and his MLB debut could be any day now.
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Samuel Basallo moved up two spots from No. 18 to No. 16 after opening the season at No. 10. He is the second-best catching prospect in baseball behind the San Diego Padres’ Ethan Salas (No. 15). Basallo, 19, will play in the MLB All-Star Futures Game on July 13. He is hitting .279 with an .810 OPS for Double-A Bowie this year.
It’s possible the next time Baseball America updates its list, Heston Kjerstad won’t be on it. Kjerstad, who is about 65 MLB at-bats away from graduating, is playing his way onto the field in Baltimore more now in his third stint with the Orioles. The 25-year-old outfielder entered Thursday with a .265 average and an .890 OPS after he clobbered Triple-A pitching. He is still ranked No. 23 on the list.
Left-hander Cade Povich, the last of five Orioles in the top 100, jumped from No. 99 to No. 87 after he was unranked in the preseason. Povich improved his command this season and kept up his elite strikeout rate in the minors to earn his big league promotion. Through five starts, the 24-year-old has a 4.05 ERA, and he will likely graduate from prospect status after his next five starts.
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