Baltimore Orioles Star Prospect Placed On Minor League IL

Baseball's top prospect and Baltimore Orioles star is hitting the shelf with an injury.

Apr 24, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles second base Jackson Holliday (7) takes the field before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles' top prospect, Jackson Holliday, is going on the injured list at Triple-A Norfolk.

He is being shelved due to "right elbow inflammation," though it is not considered too serious. Holliday, who is also MLB Pipeline's No. 1 overall prospect, has had an up and down season between the MLB and minor leagues thus far.

The 20-year-old began the season in Triple-A before earning a very hyped call up in April.

All eyes were on the young infielder, but in his 10 games with the Orioles, he struggled mightily when posting a slash line of .059/.111/.059, collecting only two hits and one RBI.

His biggest issue was with the strikeouts. In 34 at-bats, Holliday struck out 18 times, a whopping 50 percent strikeout rate. He also only walked two times.

While he was the talk of the baseball world during his poor first stint, there is no real reason to panic.

He's still extremely young, and it was only 10games.

Holliday was drafted as an 18-year-old in 2022 and made it to Triple-A by the time he was 19 last season, playing across four levels in 2023 alone.

Could it be argued that he was rushed? Maybe. But given how he was hitting, he was giving the team no choice.

Aside from his short big league stint, Holliday has been good in 2024 at the Triple-A level. In 50 games, the former first overall pick has hit .270 with an .898 OPS, seven home runs and 16 doubles.

He's still doing what he's always done, which is hit.

The most encouraging sign, especially after his strikeout woes in the bigs, is the plate discipline he has displayed with Norfolk. He has 54 strikeouts in 189 at-bats, but he also has 54 walks as well.

Holliday has shown great ability in the plate discipline department throughout his pro career, so it's possible he was being over powered and just wasn't ready to face MLB pitching yet.

Despite the panic due to his debut, Holliday got his first taste of The Show, and if nothing else, he was able to learn what is necessary for adjustments.

It's more than likely he will get another shot to be called up in 2024, but for now, he will have to get healthy after this stint on the injured list as the franchise will presumably take their time and make sure he is healthy before calling him back for action.