Baltimore Orioles Legend Says Mistake Might Have Been Made With Top Prospect

The Baltimore Orioles are currently trying to figure out the best timeline to cycle their top prospects into the mix in the MLB, and it sounds like one of their past legends thinks it should be a while until their No. 1 player gets promoted again.

Apr 23, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) | Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

It looks like it's going to be a battle until the end of the season for the Baltimore Orioles to lift back-to-back AL East banners as the New York Yankees look extremely formidable and don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

That should have been expected as both teams made upgrades to their rosters heading into 2024.

But as the Orioles have some inconsistent moments on offense, there is some thought they should give their top prospects, who are dominating in Triple-A, an opportunity to showcase what they can do in the MLB.

Coby Mayo was seen as someone who could boost their infield's profile as Ramon Urias struggles, but an injury will push his timetable back in devastating news to both parties.

Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday were both called up for short stints during the early portion of the year, but they wanted to give the young outfielder more everyday reps and their No. 1 prospect didn't look ready for Major League pitching, prompting both to get demoted.

Baltimore's legend Cal Ripken Jr. seems to think they might have moved Holliday too rapidly through their pipeline before his flop in the bigs.

"He moved so fast through the system, and maybe a little too fast. Maybe he needed to learn a little bit more in Triple-A," he said according to Larry Berger of USA TODAY.

There was always that concern when looking at what Holliday did in his one full professional season in 2023. He played 13 games at Single-A before getting sent to High Single-A. He got 57 games there until his next promotion to Double-A. He spent 36 games with that affiliate until getting 18 games with Triple-A to close the season.

Someone with the talent, pedigree, and early performance of the superstar prospect suggests he should move up quickly, but like Ripken said, maybe everything happened a bit too fast for him to find the level of success that was expected of him early.

Still, as the legend says, Holliday also struggled "because he's 20."

There's plenty of time for him to showcase his abilities. It just might not come in 2024 like fans were hoping.