Top prospect Jackson Holliday has two hits, RBI in Baltimore Orioles' spring training win

BALTIMORE - Jackson Holliday, Major League Baseball's top prospect, initially told reporters he wanted to be in the big leagues in no more than two years.

The 2022 No. 1 overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles is on that pace.

Holliday batted leadoff in Thursday's spring training game and went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple.

"I'm headed in that direction," Holliday said. "I'm excited to be here and I can't think of a better situation."

The Orioles defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-8, in Sarasota, Florida.

Holliday opened the game by grounding out against Pirates' starting Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023.

"It's pretty cool to be able to do that," Holliday said. "He was an incredible college pitcher (at LSU) and he won a national championship, which is pretty awesome. I'm sure he will be in the big leagues pretty quickly too."

Holliday singled in the fifth inning and then tripled home Enrique Bradford in the sixth inning.

He is now 3-for-11 this spring with five strikeouts. He is also playing second base as the Orioles await Gunnar Henderson's return to the infield.

"I'm getting more comfortable. Not to the level that I would like to be swinging it, but the last few games, starting to tick up a little bit, so I'm happy about that," Holliday said. "It's just a matter of getting at-bats and a matter of time before I start putting together good at-bats and getting a few more hits. I'm excited about the way that it's trending."

Holliday pushed through all four minor league affiliates in 2023, batting .323 with 12 home runs, 75 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

Newly-acquired starter Corbin Burnes allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Jorge Mateo had two home runs, while Kyle Stowers went 2-for-2 with a home run.

The Orioles (6-1) next play the Atlanta Braves on Friday.