Jackson Holliday continued his hot start to the 2024 triple-A season, blasting his second leadoff homer off the season Tuesday night for Baltimore Orioles' triple-A Norfolk Tides.
Entering the game against the Charlotte Knights — the Chicago White Sox's triple-A affiliate — with a 1.089 OPS through 14 at-bats, Holliday hit a Johan Dominguez slider 99.6 m.p.h. and 414 feet over the wall in straightaway centre.
The Orioles' No. 6 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Connor Norby followed up Holliday's blast with a home run of his own, giving the Tides an early 2-0 lead. Norby's home run was hit 107.1 m.p.h. and travelled 451 feet.
Holliday, the consensus top prospect in baseball, led off the season with a home run in his first at-bat.
The 20-year-old shot up through the Baltimore Orioles system in 2023, slashing .333/.442/.499 with 12 home runs and 24 stolen bases over four levels, ending the year in triple-A. He entered the season ranked as MLB's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
Holliday made a strong case to make Baltimore's Opening Day roster in spring training, posting a .954 OPS with two home runs in 15 games.
The Orioles selected Holliday first overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. They have until April 11 to promote Holliday and be eligible for a prospect promotion pick at the end of the first round of the 2025 amateur draft, such as were earned by Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez in 2022 and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Arizona’s Corbin Carroll last year.
— With files from The Associated Press
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