Orioles' future shines bright at Spring Breakout

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jackson Holliday doesn’t shy away from the spotlight that inevitably comes with being MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and the son of a former All-Star big leaguer (Matt Holliday). The 20-year-old future Orioles star embraces the widespread attention.

That was clear again Thursday night, when Holliday joined fellow Baltimore prospects in signing autographs for long lines of fans before they took on a team of Pittsburgh up-and-comers at the inaugural Spring Breakout prospect showcase at LECOM Park in Bradenton.

Holliday flashed plenty of smiles and chatted with the kids. He later signed a few more autographs for young fans who came up to the netting during pregame warmups.

“It's awesome to be able to sign stuff for kids. It's always enjoyable for me,” Holliday said. “The fact that some of them look up and like to watch me play, it's pretty crazy to think about.”

Then, it was time for the youngsters from the Orioles and Pirates farm systems to play ball.

While Baltimore took a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh, the big takeaway from the night was this: The future of baseball is bright.

Here were some of the most memorable moments from the O’s Spring Breakout contest.

Holliday vs. Skenes, Part Two

For the second time this spring, Holliday had a first-inning encounter with Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes. It was a battle of baseball’s top position-player prospect and top pitching prospect, as well as the two most recent No. 1 overall Draft picks (Skenes was taken with the top selection in 2023).

On Feb. 29, Holliday grounded out to second base in a two-pitch at-bat vs. Skenes in Grapefruit League action at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. This time, Holliday worked a six-pitch at-bat that featured him taking three of the first four offerings for balls and fouling off a pitch.

However, Skenes again won the matchup, getting Holliday to swing through a 91.6 mph fastball for a strikeout. Half of Skenes’ pitches during the at-bat exceeded 100 mph.

“I think he was probably throwing like 110 [mph]. That’s what it looked like,” Holliday quipped. “Brought out a cutter. I got to see all of them this time. It’s a fun at-bat. I mean, good pitches get hitters out sometimes.”

There will be plenty of opportunities for Holliday to get revenge in the years to come.

Bradfield shows off elite wheels

No player in Baltimore’s Minor League system is faster than Enrique Bradfield Jr., the O’s No. 6 prospect who has 80-grade speed. So when he dropped down a third-inning bunt against Bucs left-hander Hunter Barco, it was time for Bradfield to fly.

Bradfield legged out a single, recording an elite sprint speed of 30.5 feet/second (per Statcast) while running from home to first base in 3.69 seconds. That’s faster than every home-to-first time recorded by an O’s player in 2023, and it would be tied for the seventh fastest by an Oriole since Statcast tracking began in '15, had it happened during a regular-season game.

Did Bradfield know he had a hit as soon as he got the bunt down?

"No. That's why I was running as hard as I was,” Bradfield said with a smile. “But I made it, and it was cool."

A left-handed-hitting center fielder out of Vanderbilt University, Bradfield was selected by Baltimore with the No. 17 pick in the first round of last year’s Draft. The 22-year-old went 25-for-27 on steal attempts over the first 25 games of his Minor League career.

Autograph time

Holliday wasn’t the only prospect who had a tired hand. Players from both teams signed autographs for fans in waves at a long station on the LECOM Park concourse.

The first O’s youngsters to mingle with the fans were a group that included Holliday and fellow infielders Coby Mayo (No. 30 overall) and Connor Norby (O’s No. 7). Then, the second group featured 19-year-old catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo (No. 17 overall).

It was a fun pregame event that should surely be repeated at Spring Breakout events in the future. The competition was enjoyable for the participants as well.

“A lot of great guys here on both ends, and it’s really cool,” said left-hander Cade Povich, the Orioles’ No. 10 prospect who allowed two runs (one earned) and struck out four in three innings. “I forgot for a second later in that game, like, ‘Oh, we’re still in Spring Training. This isn’t a real game.’ It’s been fun.”

Added Bradfield: “It was awesome. Whenever you get a chance to represent the organization that you play for in one of these games -- this was the first one, and hopefully, there will be many more. It was cool to take the field.”