Orioles' Holliday won't make Opening Day roster
The Baltimore Orioles reassigned No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday to minor-league camp, the club announced Friday.
Holliday went deep twice while recording six RBIs and a .954 OPS over 15 spring games. He also played solid defensively at second base.
"He's going to be a better player and a more complete player when he comes up," Orioles general manager Mike Elias said, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
The 20-year-old is widely considered baseball's best prospect after the Orioles selected him with the first pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
"Just because you are a top prospect does not mean you leapfrog over guys who have been in the major leagues and have a lot of positive experience and a lot of stability to draw from in their production," Elias added, according to Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner.
Baltimore also optioned outfielders Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers.
Stowers, 26, hit a team-leading seven homers with 14 RBIs and a 1.011 OPS over 19 contests in the Grapefruit League.
“I'm bummed. I'm really, really bummed," Stowers said.
Elias acknowledged it was "a close call and a tough decision" to leave Stowers off the Opening Day roster, per Jake Rill of MLB.com.
The 25-year-old Kjerstad, who was the No. 2 overall pick in 2020, had three RBIs with a .580 OPS in 18 spring games.