The top MLB prospect, Jackson Holliday, will not start the season in the Majors with the Baltimore Orioles.
The organization announced that the infielder will instead play in the minor leagues to begin the 2024 campaign.
Selected first overall in the 2022 draft by the Orioles, Holliday shuttled between the A, A+, AA, and AAA levels last season. In 36 games at the AA level, he maintained a batting average of .338 while producing 15 runs. He also appeared in 18 games with Norfolk at the AAA level, batting ,267.
The Orioles also sent Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers to minor league camp.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers confirmed that Wyatt Langford had done enough to start the season with the Major League team. Ranked as the sixth-best MLB prospect, Langford is a 22-year-old outfielder drafted fourth overall in the 2022 draft. In 17 spring games, he posted a batting average of .388 and hit six home runs.
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Finally, the Milwaukee Brewers were impressed by the performance of 20-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio, who will start the season with the Brewers. He is the second-best MLB prospect after Holliday. Last season in the minor leagues, he batted .282 and hit 22 home runs while driving in 91 runs.
The Rangers sign Lorenzen
Michael Lorenzen signed a one-year contract with the Rangers on Friday, giving the World Series champions another starting pitcher as the regular season approaches. The deal is worth $4.5 million, and the right-hander can earn an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses.
The Rangers needed pitching help as Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer could be out for an extended period due to injuries. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will be the starting pitcher in the opening game in Arlington on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. Eovaldi posted a 5-0 record in the playoffs last year.
At 32 years old, Lorenzen was an All-Star for the first time in 2023 with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to Philadelphia at the trade deadline. On August 9, he threw a no-hitter against Washington in his second start with the Phillies, his first at home. He had a combined record of 9-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 29 games, including 25 starts. In nine seasons in the majors, Lorenzen has a record of 40-38 with a 4.11 ERA in 342 games.
He made his MLB debut with Cincinnati in 2015, appearing in 27 games, including 21 as a starter. He was then a reliever until 2022 when he joined the Angels' rotation. DeGrom underwent right elbow surgery last June, while Scherzer had back surgery in December.