BOSTON — It is the night Orioles fans have been waiting for since Jackson Holliday was drafted first overall by Baltimore in 2022. The 20-year-old mega prospect, the number one prospect in all of baseball, will make his major league debut on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Holliday will play second base and bat ninth for the Orioles in his long-awaited and much-hyped big league debut.
It has been a meteoric rise for the phenom who is considered a can’t-miss prospect. He hasn’t missed much while tearing it up at the Triple-A level for the Norfolk Tides.
In ten games to start the year he has a .333 batting average, a .482 on-base percentage and a .595 slugging percentage. He has hit two homers, five doubles, has racked up nine RBI and 12 walks.
Holliday is one of the most impressive prospects in recent memory. Now he is a prospect no longer... he’s a big leaguer.
"I’m excited. I got a taste a little bit during spring training. Obviously it’s a little bit different now during the season. But, I feel like I was able to hold my own and I’m definitely looking forward to tonight," he said as he sat in the visitor's dugout before batting practice.
"I am not as nervous as I thought I would be. I am more excited," he added. "I kind of changed the mind frame from nervous to excitement. But, yeah, really excited."
This is a night he has envisioned since putting on a ceremonial O's uniform during the summer of 2022.
"I knew when I did that press conference, whenever I got drafted, I said two years [to make the Majors]. To be able to actually do that, it’s really exciting. I’m extremely happy to be here and be with these guys."
What does he want to accomplish mentally and on the field during his debut?
"Just to get comfortable. After the first pitch, your first ground ball or however it is, I think I’ll be fine. I’m just going to try to hit the fastball right back where it came from and go from there. It is different. It is a lot and I feel like I have been born to handle that and to be here and to play baseball for a long time.”
Holliday will wear No. 7 for the Birds. That is the numeral made famous by Cal Ripken, Sr. Holliday will be the first Oriole to wear No. 7 since Billy Ripken over 30 year ago.
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