Baltimore Orioles Boss Gives Update About Top Prospect's Roster Decision

Baltimore Orioles fans everywhere are waiting for their third top prospect to make his MLB debut soon. GM Mike Elias gives an update on what that decision could be.

It has been a great stretch for the Baltimore Orioles' top prospects the past two seasons.

Adley Rutschman has turned into a superstar and Gunnar Henderson is well on his way after winning the AL Rookie of the Year award.

But Orioles fans are already looking forward to seeing another one of their top prospects make his MLB debut.

Jackson Holliday has been a phenom since he entered the national stage at a young age. He was taken No. 1 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft by Baltimore and opted to skip playing college baseball.

In his first full season as a professional in 2023, the 19-year-old had a slash line of .323/.442/.499 with 12 home runs and 75 RBI across 125 games with four of the Orioles' minor league affiliates.

He finished the season with the Triple-A team, suggesting that he could make the Opening Day roster in 2024.

However, general manager Mike Elias is pumping the brakes on that notion a bit.

In a conversation with Steve Melewski of MASN, he gave some updates on his thought process.

"Anyone who is playing well in Triple-A and that you like organizationally, that enters them into conversations on how to plan the 2024 major league roster. I don’t think he is an exception to that. The other factor in his particular case, is he’s so young. Just a winter offseason at age 19 going into age 20 (he turns 20 Dec. 4), a lot of can happen for a kid that age developmentally. Some things can happen negatively, but usually there is positive development when you are 19 going on 20, so I can't wait to see what he looks like in spring training. And that is really where we are leaving it," Elias told Melewski.

The update is that there's really no update and there won't be a decision until spring training is completed.

That's not unexpected.

Elias is a methodical guy and there's no need to rush Holliday onto the Major League roster if neither party is ready.

Despite the hype around the young phenom, he only played 22 total games at the Triple-A affiliate, including the playoffs, and easily had his worst production at that level.

Holliday will make his debut in 2024, that seems clear.

Whether or not it comes on Opening Day will be determined in spring training.