Orioles fans will be even more furious after they find out what Jackson Holliday did

The Baltimore Orioles made a rather unpopular decision ahead of Opening Day. Jackson Holliday, baseball's top prospect, was left off the Orioles Opening Day roster. The front office cited the need for Holliday to gain more experience at second base and his lack of at-bats against left-handed pitching. Holliday is a shortstop by trade and played just 18 games at Triple-A in 2023.

It appears that Holliday took the demotion to the minor leagues personally. In his first at-bat with Triple-A Norfolk, Holliday sent a 2-1 pitch screaming out of the ballpark. The ball clear the bullpen in right field at Harbor Park.

Since he played with the Norfolk Tides in 2023, this wasn't Holliday's first round-tripper at Triple-A. The 20-year-old hit two big flies for the Tides last season and totaled 12 homers on the year while playing at four different levels of competition.

Orioles fans will be even more furious after they find out what Jackson Holliday did

Holliday's assignment to Triple-A was an unfortunate ending to what was a spectacular spring training with the Orioles. Holliday was non-roster invitee, but played like he'd been in the big leagues for five years. In 15 Grapefruit League games, Holliday hit .311/.354/.600 with seven extra-base hits including two home runs.

The Orioles decided to leave Holliday in the minors to begin their pursuit of back-to-back AL East titles. While O's fans can't wait for Holliday to make his big league debut, it's not as if Baltimore doesn't already have a squad loaded with talented young players. Last year's AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson will be a player to watch this season, as will Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg.

If Holliday keeps mashing like he did on Friday night, the Orioles front office won't be able to keep him down for long. Holliday ended the night going 3-for-5 with four RBI. By the way, that homer he hit was against a left-handed pitcher. That will only help increase the former first-round pick's chances of having his contract selected later this season.

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