Projected Orioles Opening-Day Lineup Features Top Prospect
The Baltimore Orioles will spend the next six weeks in Sarasota, Fla., at spring training sorting through which players will make its 26-man opening-day roster.
Before the Orioles’ season-opener against the Los Angeles Angels on March 28 at Camden Yards, manager Brandon Hyde will have to fill out the lineup card.
MLB.com recently projected the opening-day batting order and starting rotations for every team, and the site believes that the Orioles’ top prospect, Jackson Holliday, will make the roster and be in the starting lineup.
But he won’t be playing his natural position of shortstop. Instead, the site has Holliday batting eighth and playing second base.
Holliday is the game’s No. 1 prospect, as ranked by just about every site and expert that follows the game. Last year Holliday rocketed through the Orioles’ system and finished up at Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles have invited him to Major League spring training and he will have every chance of making the roster.
In fact, general manager Mike Elias has made it clear that the Orioles will move Holliday around and not just have him work at shortstop. They intend to work him at second base, and Elias has said they are open to having a “left-handed hitting second baseman.” That would be Holliday.
If Holliday makes the roster, he’ll do so less than two year after being selected No. 1 overall out of high school.
The rest of the batting order will look familiar, as most of it was part of last year’s 101-win AL East championship team.
MLB projects that Gunnar Henderson — the AL Rookie of the Year a season ago — will leadoff and play shortstop, followed by catcher Adley Rutschman. Both won Silver Sluggers last season.
Right fielder Anthony Santander would hit third, followed by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn.
Left fielder Austin Hays would bat sixth, followed by center fielder Cedric Mullins, Holliday and third baseman Jordan Westburg.
Corbin Burns, whom the Orioles traded for earlier this offseason, headlines the rotation and would likely get the opening-day start. Following the former Cy Young winner would be Kyle Bradish, who was in the top five of Cy Young voting last year. Grayson Rodriguez, John Means and Dean Kremer round out the projected rotation.
Holliday and the Orioles have about six weeks to prove MLB.com right.
