Baltimore Orioles Rising Prospect Could Change Primary Defensive Position

Many people are anticipating the Major League debut of Jackson Holliday with the Baltimore Orioles at some point this season.

As the son of seven-time All-Star and World Series champion Matt Holliday, the Orioles' No. 1 rated prospect is generating a lot of buzz.

He's the organization's third top-rated prospect in the past three years and could become even better than Adley Rutschman, who finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, and Gunnar Henderson who won the award last season.

The younger Holliday certainly has a bright future ahead of him, but there is major buzz about another one of Baltimore's elite prospects as well.

At 19 years old, Samuel Basallo is considered the 17th best baseball prospect in the world.

He joined the Orioles back in 2021, on a franchise record $1.3 million given for international prospects. He spent a couple seasons playing rookie ball before starting out last year with the Single-A affiliate.

The 6'3" catcher slashed .313/.402/.551 with 20 home runs, 53 extra-base hits and 86 RBI across 114 games that saw him reach the Double-A level.

Basallo is a major talent and there's some thought he could see his first MLB action this year.

However, one problem is the position he plays is currently blocked by Rutschman, who has already become one of the best catchers in the league.

According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, Baltimore has begun to prepare for this and might change Basallo's position to give him more of a clear shot to make the big league roster.

"We'll watch him work out at first base, as the Orioles plan ahead for his eventual promotion," Kubatko reports.

The good news is that playing first won't be foreign to him.

Basallo has played 51 games there so he should be able to fully adjust if and when that position becomes his sole focus.

It will be interesting to see how he ultimately is used because someone as talented as this 19-year-old should be playing in the lineup everyday and not be reduced to a backup role.