Orioles prospects Jackson Holliday and Alex Pham sweep monthly awards

Another month down, and another pair of awards for the Baltimore Orioles top farm system. This time it was a pair of Aberdeen Ironbirds that brought home the awards. Jackson Holliday added to his ever growing trophy case by being named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month and teammate Alex Pham was named pitcher of the month

Baltimore Orioles prospects Jackson Holliday and Alex Pham win weekly awards

Holliday, who is over three years younger than the average High-A player, has been unstoppable all year long. May was Holliday's first full month with the Ironbirds and he was arguably the top player in the league. Holliday earned Player of the Week honors for the week of May 15-21 when he went 13-21 with three double, three triples, two home runs and 14 RBI's. He also had a stretch, between May 14-17, where Holliday had nine consecutive at-bats (10 plate appearances) with a hit, and the last eight straight hits all had at least one RBI. After making an out in his first at-bat on May 14, Holliday's next 10 plate appearances were as follows:

Single, Walk, Home run (2 RBI), Double (2 RBI), Triple (2 RBI), Triple (1 RBI), Single (1 RBI), Single (1 RBI), Double (1 RBI), Triple (1 RBI).

The out that Holliday finally made was on a line drive that was caught. Only mother nature could stop Holliday from accomplishing history when the game on May 16 was called after five innings. In those five innings, Holliday was 3-3 with six RBI's and needed just a single to complete a cycle.

Overall for the month of May, Holliday batted .384/.509/.628 with six doubles, three triples, three home runs, 19 RBI's, eight steals and a 1.137 OPS. Holliday is making a strong push to get to Bowie and at this rate, he should be there before the end of the season.

Alex Pham is having the best season of his professional career. Pham was a 19th round selection in the 2021 MLB draft and had his breakout month in May. Pham made five starts in the month and had a 2-0 record. Pham only allowed one hit in three of his starts and two hits in a fourth start. His best start came on May 12 when Pham struck out 11 Hudson Valley Renegades in just 5.0 innings.

Pham finished May with 23.1 innings pitched, a 1.54 ERA and 34 strikeouts while only allowing 10 hits. Pham has joined what is already an impressive list of award winners in the Orioles 2023 farm system. Pham has 40.1 innings this season, which is the most of his professional career, and he holds a stellar 2.90 ERA. Pham looks to be making steady progress in his career and I look forward to more awards for him.