Young prospect Jackson Holliday made his long-awaited MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. He went hitless in four at-bats. Despite the slow start, Holliday remained cheerful after the game, which the Orioles won 7-5 over the Red Sox.

“Obviously, I would have liked to have gotten a few hits, but the overall experience was pretty incredible,” Holliday said. “To go out there and win and have an RBI, it’s pretty awesome just to be here.”

Holliday’s RBI came on a groundout in the sixth inning, which helped Baltimore erase a 5-0 deficit with seven unanswered runs. The reigning AL East champions improved to 7-4 in the division, inching closer to the 10-3 Yankees.

The 20-year-old infielder wore No. 7 in his MLB debut to honor his father, retired MLB star Matt Holliday. As the first overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday is the newest addition to an Orioles roster stacked with young talent. 

Like many of Baltimore’s prospects recently, Holliday flew through the minor league ranks, progressing from Single-A to Triple-A in the span of the 2023 season. He batted .333 to begin his 2024 season in the minors, encouraging management enough to call him up.

Last season, Baltimore made a surprising run to the postseason with almost no veteran leadership, depending instead on the talents of rising stars like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. The Orioles won 101 games but lost to the Texas Rangers in the ALDS, but the team is firmly established as one to watch for the foreseeable future.

With Henderson already at shortstop, Holliday began his MLB career at second base, though there could be further shuffling in the infield. An abundance of talent is a good problem for a team that is well ahead of schedule in its rebuilding efforts. Signing ace pitcher Corbin Burnes in the offseason shows that the team is quickly developing championship aspirations.

Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson and Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll have been named the 2023 Jackie Tobisnon Rookies of the Year.

This is the first time since 2017 that a rookie won the award unanimously when it went to Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. 

Henderson, who earned the NL Rookie of the Year honors, won over Cleveland Guardians Tanner Bibbe and Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas.

Carroll won the AL Rookie of the Year over New York Mets’ Kodai Senga and Los Angeles Dodgers James Outman.

Carroll received first-place honors after hitting .285/.362/.506 with 25 home runs and 54 stolen bases, which was the second most in MLB.

Henderson helped the Orioles to an AL East Title. 

The Orioles and Diamondbacks will receive an additional first-round pick in 2024 in part due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive that the players’ union pushed for in collective bargaining negotiations. Henderson and Carroll will receive $750,000 for winning the award as part of the pre-arbitration bonus pool in the CBA.

The Orioles have been on a tear recently, and rookie Gunnar Henderson is the main reason why.

After sweeping the Kansas City Royals in the series 3-2, 6-1, and 11-3, the Baltimore Orioles are in their stride at the right time. Baltimore is 42-24 and ranked second in the AL East, only behind the Tampa Bay Rays by four games.

The Toronto Blue Jays are next on the list for the Orioles, as Baltimore already won their first match in the series 11-6 and are on the hunt for another sweep. The 21-year-old Henderson has ten homers already this season and is on a three-game streak, not to mention one home run that was 462 feet in the air and was recorded as the longest home run in the 31-year history of Eutaw Street in Camden Park.

Two days after, the Orioles shortstop and third baseman hit his first career grand slam against the Blue Jays, as they recently had their pitcher Anthony Bass DFA’d and replaced after sharing an Anti-LGBTQ post. Baltimore plays their final two games of the series against Toronto this upcoming weekend.

Henderson was selected by Baltimore in the second round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft with the 42nd overall pick. In the summer of 2022, he was picked up by the Orioles to the major leagues after playing in the minors for three seasons.

This is just the start of Henderson’s major league career as an Oriole, as the last three games, he’s had five at-bats in each contest, with four runs, eight hits, and eight RBIs. It is insane that his home runs in those games are the same amount as his strikeouts total of three.

Either way, nothing has seemed to slow down the hottest and youngest hitter in baseball right now, as Gunnar is closer to a shot at the warehouse than ever before.

Something no one has ever done in MLB history in a live game, as this home run has been compared to Ken Griffey Jr.‘s hit at the warehouse, estimated at around 465 feet. But that was done during a home run derby in 1993.

Henderson was just a few feet away from shattering another record.