MLB analyst drops bold prediction on Jackson Holliday, ranking Orioles rising star behind Ketel Marte, Jose Altuve, Marcus Semien as 4th best 2B

Expectations were at an all-time high for Baltimore Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday when he made his major league debut. The offspring of St. Louis Cardinals great Matt Holliday was selected as the first overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, but Holliday's hype is yet to pay dividends.

On the MLB Network's Top 10 Right Now, podcaster and analyst Sam Miller had some bold predictions for the youngster. Miller placed Holliday in a surprising fourth spot in the Top 10 list. The analyst disclosed the reasoning behind his belief of Jackson Holliday even after an atrocious rookie campaign.

"He could be the second or 27th in this list. However, he's still one of the most talented in the game. He's the one guy with MVP-level talent," Miller said. (1:30)

"The question is just when will he turn the tides. There's really no doubt in my mind that Jackson Holliday is breaking out at some point."

Miller selected the Orioles rookie as his wild card pick and placed him just behind MVP runners-up Ketel Marte and Marcus Semien, along with former MVP Jose Altuve. The analyst placed Holliday ahead of stars like Jazz Chisholm Jr., Nico Hoerner and Andres Gimenez.

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MLB analyst praises Jackson Holliday despite his struggles

In the aforementioned interview, Miller also recognized Holliday's blunders during his rookie year that merited him an assignment back to the minors:

"He had 200 horrible plate appearances in the majors. You can't ignore those. Holliday came up, he slumped. But now, he already had an adjustment period."

However, Miller recognized the improvement Holliday brought to the table and placed his faith on the young infielder's potential:

"He was great in Triple-A. He has great sprint speed, great athleticism and takes good professional at-bats."

The youngster finished his rookie year with a .189/.255/.311 slash line and an OPS of .565. He smashed five home runs, drove in 23 RBIs and stole four bases in 60 games.

With the Orioles being a non-factor in this year's free agency market so far, it will be interesting to see if Holliday picks up the slack and helps Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson in the stacked AL East pennant race.