At his introductory news conference last summer, first-overall draft pick Jackson Holliday said he wanted to be in the majors with the Orioles “as fast as possible.” He got one step closer Monday.

The Orioles promoted the 19-year-old shortstop to High-A Aberdeen on Monday, and he’ll make his IronBirds debut Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. In 13 games this year with Low-A Delmarva, Holliday hit .392 with a .523 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage, walking 14 times against 12 strikeouts and stealing three bases without being caught. His first two home runs at the level both came Friday, with each going the opposite way to left field.

The son of seven-time All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, Holliday will be among the youngest players at High-A. As of opening day, no players at that level of the minor leagues were younger than him, according to Baseball America. On preseason lists of the Orioles’ top prospects, Holliday entered the year trailing only infielder Gunnar Henderson and right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, both of whom are in the majors. He’s regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, with Baseball America ranking him 13th and MLB Pipeline placing him 10th overall.

The Orioles drafted Holliday first overall last summer out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma, giving him a franchise-record signing bonus of $8.19 million that narrowly surpassed the $8.1 million they gave Adley Rutschman as the top selection in 2019. After hitting .297/.489/.422 with more than twice as many walks as strikeouts between the Florida Complex League and Delmarva last year, Holliday participated in Baltimore’s big league spring training and more than held his own. Despite being the youngest member of the Orioles’ camp roster, Holliday hit .429 with a .556 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage over 18 plate appearances.

He carried that success on to Delmarva, and now, he’ll try to keep it going with Aberdeen.

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