Baltimore Orioles' New Addition Could Replace Superstar Prospect On Roster
Coming into Spring Training, there was a ton of hype surrounding many of the star prospects that the Baltimore Orioles have in their pipeline.
This would be an opportunity for them to showcase what they can do against Major League competition and for fans to finally see how they perform in an Orioles jersey.
There was no greater anticipation than for Jackson Holliday.
The consensus No. 1 prospect had a meteoric rise during his first full year of professional baseball, climbing through the farm system until he reached Triple-A to end the season.
Holliday was seen as a prime candidate to make the Opening Day roster with a good showing during camp, and against live competition.
However, that hasn't happened so far.
In three games and across seven at-bats, he's only recorded one hit and has struck out five times.
Not the start that Baltimore was hoping to see.
There's still a chance he can settle in and turn things around. The 20-year-old has a marquee matchup against another top prospect that will certainly draw attention.
But if Holliday can't improve his performance, their new signing Kolten Wong might be the one who gets the Opening Day nod.
"He also brings a left-handed bat to the position that they coveted, providing an option if Jackson Holliday doesn't have his contract selected for Opening Day," writes Roch Kubatko of MASN.
When Wong was signed to a minor league deal, it wasn't a move that really drew the attention of many across the MLB.
He struggled last year and was designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners, just one season removed from his best two-year stretch at the plate in his career.
The two-time Gold Glover is ready for his next opportunity and is happy to get it with the Orioles.
Whether or not he makes the Opening Day roster is largely out of his control as the front office and coaching staff would ideally like to have Holliday earn that spot, but if Wong performs well, he could be the one getting that nod.
