The Baltimore Orioles had the number one draft pick last year.
They turned it into middle infielder Jackson Holliday, the son of former star Matt Holliday.
The 19-year-old shortstop is still a long way from the major leagues, but has a chance to be special.
The O’s player development account on Twitter posted a video of Holliday’s sweet swing.
As they say, “smooth as butter.”
Smooth as butter 🥞 pic.twitter.com/GoNwMOPuIl
— Orioles Player Development (@OsPlayerDev) February 22, 2023
It’s a gorgeous swing: short, powerful, and compact.
It has fluid movement of all body parts involved, and most of the power comes from the hips.
You can see, in that swing, that more power will come as Holiday ages and adds some muscle to his frame.
Scouts say he has above-average feel for contact and “burgeoning power.”
That power hasn’t been evident in games during his short minor league career yet.
He started off in the Florida Complex League and hit .409/.576/.591 in eight games, with a home run and three stolen bases.
He then moved to Class-A, and was also good, but challenged this time: he hit .238/.439/.333 with no homers in 12 games.
Evidently, his plate discipline is too advanced for the low minors, where pitchers often struggle to consistently throw strikes.
As he goes through the ladder, his skills will be tested and that plate discipline will help him get through the growing pains.
The power should come with time because he has excellent feel for the barrel.
Contact hitting is not an issue either, because he has shown the ability to put the bat on the ball and make adjustments on the go.
Simply put, Holliday is a top-ten prospect in MLB who can be a real star three or four years from now.
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Orioles Chairman Reveals Plans For The Future
