Jackson Holliday is rated the No. 1 prospect in baseball by virtually every scout. It won’t be long until he joins the Baltimore Orioles – who currently have the best record in the American League.

After several dismal years, the Orioles are loaded with talent. Fans are enjoying the revival. Their biggest Holliday celebrations are likely to come, perhaps as soon as next year.

The 19-year-old son of 15-year MLB veteran outfielder Matt Holliday makes the game look easy, especially with a skill that is often considered the singular most challenging of any sport: hitting a baseball thrown at upwards of 90 mph and not knowing which way a gifted pitcher may make it curve, dip or sail.

Even a casual fan can already see that young Holliday’s forte in that area combined with his vast athletic ability makes him just about a consensus “five-tool player”.

For those unaccustomed to baseball terminology, scouts look for players based upon five physical “tools”:

· Hitting a baseball

· Hitting it with power

· Running speed

· Throwing strength

· Fielding agility

Scouts generally grade on a 20-to-80 scale: 20-30 is well below average, 40 below average, 50 average, 60 above average and 70-80 well above average. Holliday grades between 55 and 70 in all categories.

There’s also an “unseen” sixth tool, which is like a sixth sense. It’s basically a combination of maturity, desire and natural instinct for the game. Holliday grades an unofficial 80 there as he grew up in a big-league environment watching his dad bat. 299 with 316 homers, 1,220 RBI and earn seven All-Star Game selections.

In 130 professional games across all five levels of the minors, every day has been a Holliday. He has batted .322 (112-for-479) with 11 homers, 75 RBI, 32 doubles, 9 triples, 112 runs and 27 stolen bases. He also has walked 112 times compared to 115 strikeouts.

This season, he has scooted up four levels:

· In 14 games at Low A Delmarva, he batted .396 with a .522 on-base percentage, .660 slugging percentage for a whopping 1.182 OPS.

· In 57 games at High A Aberdeen:.314/.452/.488/.940

· In 36 games at Double-A Bowie: .356/.412/.563/.975

· In 3 games at Triple-A Norfolk: .077/.200/.154/.354

In a recent series of Double-A Eastern EML League games, I was very impressed with Holliday’s quick hands, feet and compact swing. I also noticed a few things that need fine tuning.

· He twice was an easy out at second base trying to stretch a single into a double. Aggressive “Pete Rose style” play is admirable. Wise baserunning is a must. It comes with experience.

· He backed up on a sharp grounder hit directly at him. The ball took an odd hop and glanced off his glove. It was appropriately ruled a single, but if he had moved in on the ball, that hop would never have happened and it likely would have been an easy out.

· He over-ran a pop fly hit 15 feet onto the outfield grass. It was more than an ordinary play, and therefore ruled a hit, but it is play that most MLB infielders are expected to convert.

· He “bailed out” against a left-handed pitcher and struck out. This one he fixed the next time up by keeping his front shoulder closed and striding into the ball instead of away from it. The result? Another line-drive hit.

Left-handed hitting shortstops are rather rare. Currently, Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers, Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants and J.P. Crawford of the Seattle Mariners are productive lefty-swinging shortstops and key to their teams battling for a playoff spot.

Three are three lefty-hitting shortstops in the Hall of Fame, though John Ward played four other positions in the 1800s including pitcher, where he won 164 games.

Joe Sewell hit .312 for Cleveland (1920-30 and New York Yankees (1931-33) and was nearly impossible to strike out. He whiffed only 114 times (compared to 842 walks) in 1,903 games. In 1925, he whiffed only four times in 699 times to the plate, batting .336 with 98 RBI.

Arky Vaughan batted .318 over a 14-year career for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1932-41) and Brooklyn Dodgers. He won the 1935 batting title with a .385 mark and career highs of 19 homers and 99 RBI.

Both Sewell and Vaughn were quick runners and not as big as Holliday, who is listed as 6-foot, 185 pounds. He is expected to ad some muscle as he continues to develop physically but won’t be as big and powerful as pop.

Matt Holliday, a 6-foot-4, 193-pounder whose best season was 2007 when he led the Colorado Rockies to their only World Series, he led the NL with a .340 average, scored 120 runs, drove in 137 and had 50 doubles, 6 triples and 36 homers. He went back to the postseason eight more times combined with the Rockies, Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.

Orioles fans will soon expect similar success. Jackson Holliday and precocious position players Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Joey Ortiz. Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby, Coby Mayo and Dylan Beavers all seem ready to put a capital O in the Orioles’ offense for years.