With MLB spring training in full swing, fans and teams have the opportunity to watch the future stars of the game compete against each other. Spring training allows for the games top prospects to play in games that showcase what made them such highly touted prospects.
Top prospect for the Baltimore Orioles, Jackson Holliday, has all eyes on him this offseason, as he has had a great spring thus far. The Orioles have mentioned that the 20 year old will get every opportunity to break camp and make it to the major league level. Last season as a 19 year old, he slashed an outstanding .323 Batting Average, hit 12 Home Runs, 75 RBIs, 30SB, 9 3Bs, 24 SB, 113 R, and 101 BBs. Holliday did this in only 125 games and in his first year in the Minor Leagues. His outstanding performance brought him up 4 leagues, starting from Single A, also known as Rookie Ball, and moving all the way up to AAA in route to winning a AAA championship and taking home Baseball America’s Minor League Player of The Year. This spring it appears as Holliday has added some size and now his calling card could be the hit tool with the development of strength and power. If Holliday keeps his stride up, there is no way he doesn’t make the Orioles opening day roster.
Cincinnati Reds best prospect Noelvi Marte, has been caught and detected for performing enhancing drugs (BOLDENONE), suspending him for 80 games. Marte was a centerpiece in the 2022 deadline deal when the Reds sent Louis Castillo to the Mariners and debuted last August, where he hit .316 in 35 games with 3 home runs, 15 RBIs, 7 doubles, and ended the season on a 13 game hitting streak. Marte will be eligible to return on June 26, 2024 and will be posted on a rehab assignment in the Minor Leagues on June 6th.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected LSU standout, Paul Skenes, with their first pick in the 2023 draft. Skenes Is coming off one the most dominant if not the most dominant performances in college baseball history. Although Skenes only pitched in a little over six innings last year in the minors, he moved up three levels and many critics are speculating that he is capable of making the jump to the big leagues right now. Even though he has succeeded against minor league opponents and can compete at the top level, he still has to earn innings under his belt to make it to the big leagues. If all goes according to plan for Skenes, then we might see him playing on national television in Pittsburgh as early as May.
