This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s been another strong week for the Orioles, who went 5-1 during their West Coast swing through Phoenix and Anaheim. The American League’s top team continues to barrel toward a postseason berth and possibly an AL East title.

But it was also an eventful week down on the farm, where some of the top prospects in Baltimore’s Minor League ranks continue to impress. Even as future stars have reached the big leagues this season, the system has remained stacked with top talent.

Let’s break down three of the hottest topics from the past week.

1. Jackson Holliday has made it to Triple-A Norfolk
The biggest Minor League news of the week came on Sunday night, when it was reported that Holliday (MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect) would be promoted to Triple-A. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft is still only 19 years old.

On Tuesday, Holliday made his Norfolk debut, starting at shortstop and going 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored out of the leadoff spot in the Tides’ 9-4 loss to Jacksonville. Holliday is 3-for-18 with one RBI over his first four Triple-A games.

Even though Holliday’s ascent has been quick -- especially for a teenager who is only a little more than a year removed from playing at Stillwater (Okla.) High School -- he’s clearly earned each promotion with his play along the way. Here are his 2023 numbers at each previous level:

Single-A Delmarva (14 games): .396/.522/.660 with six doubles, one triple, two homers and 16 RBIs
High-A Aberdeen (57 games): .314/.452/.488 with 11 doubles, five triples, five homers and 35 RBIs
Double-A Bowie (36 games): .338/.421/.507 with nine doubles, three triples, three homers and 15 RBIs

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde repeatedly praised Holliday for holding his own during his time in big league Spring Training earlier this year, and the skipper recently said he’s never seen such a young player have this type of first full professional season during his coaching career.

“He’s obviously got great bloodlines and has been around big league players a lot, and I think that’s unbelievably helpful,” Hyde said of the son of former All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday. “And he’s extremely talented, also. I’m happy for the year he’s having.”

It seems unlikely Holliday could reach the big leagues over the next three weeks (never say never), but his season has gone exceptionally well, regardless.

2. Heston Kjerstad has remained at Triple-A Norfolk
When MLB active rosters expanded from 26 players to 28 on Sept. 1, it seemed possible that Kjerstad could get his first callup to The Show. Instead, the 24-year-old outfielder remained at Triple-A, where he’s been since getting moved up on June 5.

Prior to this season, Kjerstad had only 65 games of Minor League experience. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft didn’t make his pro debut until June 10, 2022, due to myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), followed by a left hamstring strain sustained early in ‘22.

So it’s not a huge surprise that Baltimore has allowed Kjerstad (the club’s No. 3 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 24 overall prospect) to have a normal full Minor League season and rack up at-bats across the two highest levels.

“Heston is having a wonderful season, especially given the context of everything that’s brought him to this point,” general manager Mike Elias said in late August. “He looks great. He hasn’t necessarily gone through or seen everything that he could or will see in Triple-A, so it’s still not a waste from a development standpoint that he’s getting those at-bats.”

After getting his first taste of Double-A ball to open the year -- when he slashed .310/.384/.576 with 10 doubles, three triples, 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 46 games for Bowie -- Kjerstad has continued his strong season at Triple-A. He’s slashing .302/.374/.512 with 19 doubles, five triples, 10 homers and 32 RBIs over 72 games for Norfolk.

If an injury occurs that necessitates the Orioles calling up an outfielder, perhaps Kjerstad could still make his MLB debut this September. If not, then he’s put himself in a premier position to make the big league team out of Spring Training in 2024.

3. Several members of the 2023 Draft class have reached High-A Aberdeen
Earlier this week, the Orioles promoted three members of their 2023 Draft class to High-A Aberdeen: outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. (first-round pick), infielder/outfielder Mac Horvath (second round) and outfielder Matthew Etzel (10th round).

All three performed quite well during brief stints at Single-A Delmarva. Bradfield (the O’s No. 8 prospect) slashed .302/.494/.340 and went 20-for-22 on stolen bases in 17 games for the Shorebirds. Horvath (the team’s No. 12 prospect) slashed .308/.422/.500 with two homers in 14 games. Etzel slashed .314/.444/.486 with two homers in 21 games.

Here’s how the trio has fared so far during their first stint with Aberdeen:

Bradfield: .111/.385/.111 with four walks in three games
Horvath: .273/.467/.818 with two homers and three RBIs in three games
Etzel: .400/.455/.600 with two doubles and one RBI in three games