Jackson Holliday continues to make case for call-up while destroying the minor leagues

You can't stop him. You can only hope to contain him. Jackson Holliday is making things difficult for the Baltimore Orioles' front office. Holliday just missed out on making the Orioles Opening Day roster, but he's making the best of his situation down at Triple-A Norfolk.

For the second time in a week, Holliday led off a minor-league game with a home run. This time it was on the road against the Charlotte Knights. Holliday smacked a 2-0 pitch in the first inning over the wall in center field, and the top prospect in all of baseball added his second round-tripper of the season to his ever-growing résumé.

Holliday made a push during spring training to join the team on Opening Day in Baltimore. But the O's brass cited lack of at-bats against high-level left-handed pitching and inexperience at second base as the dual driving forces behind the team's decision to start the infielder in the minor leagues at the outset of the 2024 season.

Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday continues to make case for call-up while destroying the minor leagues

How much longer can the Orioles afford to keep Holliday down on the farm? There's no real set time that the club's top prospect needs to remain in Triple-A, but it's not as if Baltimore has a bunch of journeymen or scrubs taking playing time away from Holliday. Jordan Westburg is another one of the Orioles' talented young players, and has been getting reps at second base while Holliday is playing for the Norfolk Tides.

But if Holliday continues to prove himself against the best pitching the minor leagues have to offer, he'll eventually force the Orioles' hand. Holliday owns a 1.070 OPS, but is just 1-for-4 against left-handed pitching. With that being an area of improvement for the 20-year-old, it's a safe bet that Holliday will need more than just four at-bats against lefties before making his major league debut.

The Orioles are certainly not floundering without Holliday in the lineup, and when the club finally makes the decision to promote him to the big leagues, he'll need to be part of the everyday lineup.

Once Baltimore has some more sound data for those players currently on the roster, the executives will have some more concrete evidence, and know exactly where Holliday fits on the major league roster. Be patient, O's fans, it's only a matter of time before Holliday gets called up to the big leagues.

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