Jackson Holliday, who had a strong performance in spring training, was left off the Baltimore Orioles Opening Day roster, causing resentment among baseball fans.
JACKSON HOLLIDAY HOMERS IN HIS 1ST AT-BAT OF THE YEAR!@Orioles | @OsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/iCFE37qo6r
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 29, 2024
He is now starting the season in Triple-A with the Norfolk Tides and has already hit a home run in his first at-bat.
What made it more impressive was that he hit it off a left-handed pitcher, a tough matchup for left-handed batters.
Fans are frustrated with clubs manipulating service time to keep their top prospects down, and they believe that is happening with Holliday.
Despite being ranked the best prospect in baseball by MLB.com, the Orioles are not rushing him.
The decision to send Holliday to the minors was disagreed upon by his father, Matt Holliday, who had a successful career in the big leagues.
Jackson must continue to perform well in the minors to force a call-up from the front office. Baltimore, the AL East champions from last season, could use all the help they can get in a tough division.
Fans reacted as follows.
Makes zero sense after batting above 300 in preseason MLB, that they sent him down
— Daddys_Tired (@Daddys_Tired) March 29, 2024
Off a lefty too which their primary reason for sending him down @MASNOriolez
— Jack Doriss (@doriss_jack11) March 29, 2024
Norfolk's top 5 of the order (Holliday, Norby, Kjerstad, Mayo, Stowers) is better than several MLB teams
— Brian 'BC' Castaldo (@BC_Castaldo) March 29, 2024
Yeah Superstar!! Jackson Holliday!!! #Orioles can't wait to see Jim in Baltimore!! Should already be here
— Soldier Of God (@sports_god1) March 29, 2024
Can you share how you got the broadcast feed? @MLBTV isn't showing the game, like they promoted ALL DAY. Just a black screen now when you select it (it did have a Starting Soon graphic for 30 minutes after the game started)
— Bill from da Shore (@BillFromDaShore) March 29, 2024
