Top prospect Holliday earns invite to O's spring camp

BALTIMORE -- Jackson Holliday’s quest to win an Opening Day roster spot will soon begin.

The Orioles on Tuesday announced that they have invited 20 non-roster players to Major League Spring Training in Sarasota, Fla. The 20-year-old Holliday, ranked as the top prospect in the game by MLB Pipeline, is included on the list, which includes six right-handed pitchers, five left-handed pitchers, five catchers, three infielders and one outfielder.

Baltimore’s pitchers and catchers must report by Feb. 14, with the first workout scheduled for Feb. 15. Position players must report by Feb. 19, with the first full-squad workout set for Feb. 20.

Holliday slashed .429/.556/.500 in 16 games at Orioles spring camp last season, but he experienced it for only a few weeks before being reassigned to Minor League camp. This year, he’ll be treated “not like a prospect,” but as “a guy trying to make the team,” per O's general manager Mike Elias.

• Holliday No. 1 as O's place 6 on Top 100 Prospects list

There’s also “definitely a very strong possibility” Holliday earns an Opening Day roster spot, as Elias put it during the Winter Meetings in December.

Holliday has experienced a meteoric rise through the Orioles’ Minor League ranks since he was selected No. 1 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. Last year, he played at all four full-season affiliates -- Single-A Delmarva (14 games), High-A Aberdeen (57), Double-A Bowie (36) and Triple-A Norfolk (18).

Like Holliday last year, catcher Samuel Basallo will experience his first big league camp as a 19-year-old this spring. Basallo, MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 overall prospect, was signed by Baltimore out of the Dominican Republic in January 2021.

Holliday and Basallo will be among five Top 100 prospects in O’s camp. Outfielders Colton Cowser (No. 19) and Heston Kjerstad (No. 32) are both on the 40-man roster after making their MLB debuts last season, while infielder Coby Mayo (No. 30) is a non-roster invitee. Infielder Connor Norby (the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect) is also an NRI.

Baltimore’s top three pitching prospects are among its non-roster invitees -- right-handers Chayce McDermott (No. 9) and Justin Armbruester (No. 18) and lefty Cade Povich (No. 10).

Pending any additions, the Orioles are set to have 58 players in big league camp -- 38 from the 40-man roster and 20 NRIs. A complete list of the non-roster players is below:

PITCHERS (11)
RHP Justin Armbruester
RHP Wandisson Charles
LHP Tucker Davidson
LHP Luis González
LHP Ronald Guzmán
RHP Chayce McDermott
LHP Cade Povich
RHP Garrett Stallings
RHP Albert Suarez
LHP Andrew Suárez
RHP Nathan Webb

CATCHERS (5)
Silas Ardoin
David Ba?uelos
Samuel Basallo
Maverick Handley
Michael Pérez

INFIELDERS (3)
Jackson Holliday
Coby Mayo
Connor Norby

OUTFIELDERS (1)
Daniel Johnson