Jackson Holliday Loses Designation as No. 1 Prospect in Baseball

Right now, there is a new No. 1 prospect in minor league baseball according to ESPN, pushing the Baltimore Orioles' superstar out of that top spot.

Apr 23, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) during the third inning at Angel Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are in the position they're currently in as an organization because of the strength of their scouting departed who allowed them to select the right players with their top picks, and their development team being able to turn those prospects into Major League stars.

There is no more clear evidence than what Adley Rutschman has done for this franchise since being called up and the ridiculous trajectory that Gunnar Henderson is currently on after winning American League Rookie of the Year in 2023.

Both of these players were ranked as the No. 1 prospect in all of minor league baseball at some point with that designation coming in back-to-back years.

When they selected Jackson Holliday with their first overall draft pick in 2022, they were hoping he would reach the same type of ceiling that Rutschman and Henderson did.

Early on, that seemed to be the case.

Holliday became the Orioles' third straight prospect who was ranked as the top prospect, but that has now changed based on ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel's new rankings.

Pitching phenom Paul Skenes has now taken over the No. 1 spot, pushing Baltimore's infielder down to No. 2.

This change comes at an interesting time considering the Pittsburgh Pirates called up Skenes to their Major League roster where he has been sensational in his two starts, posting an ERA of 2.70 with 18 strikeouts over his 10 innings pitched.

It doesn't seem like he'll spend much more time in the minors, so another change could be coming soon, but McDaniel also gives a reason for why he dropped Holliday in his rankings.

"He's still above average at basically everything on the field, but probably not plus-plus at any one thing, which differs from most players who have held the No. 1 overall prospect title," he writes.

This is an interesting change in analysis for the 20-year-old after he was largely considered the best hitting prospect in the minors, one of the reasons why he catapulted through the Orioles' pipeline and made his Major League debut this season.

The ceiling is still high for Holliday and he could still become the elite MLB player that he was projected to become even after his disappointing 10-game sample size from earlier in the year.