Baltimore Orioles rising star Jackson Holliday continued his meteoric rise with an impressive grand slam to give his team an 11-6 win on Sunday.
The former first overall draft pick continues to exceed expectations and looks like a shoo-in for an opening day roster spot with the Orioles. Few could have projected the young Holliday making this kind of impact so early in his career.
The Orioles were leading by just one run when the at-bat took place. Facing the mighty Yusei Kikuchi on the mound, the odds were heavily against Holliday, especially when he went behind 0-2. That, however, didn’t seem to slow the 20-year-old down. He proceed to take a 95 mph fastball over right field to give his team a commanding 5-0 lead early in the game.
Jackson Holliday's ready for #SpringBreakout! He just CRUSHED a grand slam 💥 pic.twitter.com/Cdbd9MoNAS
— MLB (@MLB) March 10, 2024
The home run was Holliday’s first during spring training and should pave the way for the young star to earn a place on the 40-man roster. So far, he is hitting .323 over over 10 games and has already recorded a home run and 5 RBIs. After an exceptional spring training, it seems only a matter of time before the young infielder cementes a place in the lineup.
Holliday, the son of former MLB superstar Matt Holliday, was the first overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft and has shown tremendous progress to work his way up the ranks. Over 18 games at the Triple-A level last season, he slashed .267/.396/.400 and recorded 2 home runs and 9 RBIs over 18 games.
Along with Holliday, the Orioles have several talented young stars including Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez on the roster. The future is promising for an Orioles side that is looking to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
