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To the resentment of many baseball fans, Jackson Holliday was left off the Baltimore Orioles Opening Day roster. This was despite him hitting .311/.354/.600 with three doubles, two triples, and two home runs in the spring.
He is starting the year in Triple-A with the Norfolk Tides and is already producing fireworks. In his first at-bat of the year, Holliday hit a no-doubt home run straight to right field.
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What made the home run even better? Holliday did it off a left-handed pitcher, which is typically a tough matchup for left-handed batters. It will be hard for the front office to keep him down much longer.
Baseball fans were already upset that he did not make the Orioles' Opening Day roster. They are tired of clubs keeping their best prospects down in order to manipulate their service time.
"This is evidence of service time manipulation" one fan posted.
"Bro took it personal" another fan posted.
While fans have watched other teams bring up their top prospects, the Orioles are not rushing Holliday. Holliday came into the season ranked the best prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com.
Jackson Holliday looks fine against left-handed pitching
There were multiple reasons that Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias kept Jackson Holliday down for the start of the season. The position change to second base and lack of experience played a part, especially against lefties. However, the young slugger does not look to be overmatched.
The decision to send Holliday back down to the minors was something his dad, Matt Holiday, did not agree with. He thought his kid proved himself enough to make the Opening Day roster.
Matt enjoyed a 15-year career in the big leagues, roaming the outfield. He played seasons with the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A's, and New York Yankees.
Jackson must keep his head down and produce at the minor league level. If he does, the front office will have no choice but to call him up. While playing in a division as tough as the American League East, you need all the help you can get.
Baltimore is coming off a season where they were crowned AL East champions after an impressive 101-win season. They already got off to an impressive start behind the arm of Corbin Burnes, who gave up just one hit to the Angels on Thursday.
