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Baltimore Orioles infield prospect Jackson Holliday tallied two hits and his fourth home run of the season on Thursday. This brings him to a solid .283/.438/.491 line with a stellar 29:26 BB:K ratio through 27 games at Triple-A. Holliday made his major league debut earlier this season but struggled through the small ten-game sample size. Since returning to the minor leagues, Holliday has not been as dominant as he was earlier in the season with a low .234/.395/.406 slash line, but hopefully, Thursday's performance can get him back on track. Holliday is considered the top prospect in all of baseball and should be expected to return to the major leagues very soon. The 20-year-old remains a great stash candidate in all formats.
Baltimore Orioles infield prospect Coby Mayo (undisclosed), the team's No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was removed from the game on Thursday with Triple-A Norfolk as a precaution after he collided with part of the third base dugout. It's unclear exactly what type of injury Mayo is dealing with, but it doesn't sound serious. Fantasy managers stashing Mayo in their leagues will want to check back for more information later on Thursday or on Friday. The 22-year-old former fourth-round selection by the O's in 2020 entered Thursday's game with a strong .282/.353/.594 slash line with a .947 OPS, 13 home runs, 37 RBI, three steals and 29 runs scored in 41 games for the Tides. Mayo has been pushing for his first big-league promotion, but this injury could set him back some. The stacked nature of Baltimore's big-league roster will make it hard for Mayo to carve out significant playing time if he does get the call at any point in 2024.
After getting demoted earlier in the week, Baltimore Orioles outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad went back to what he was familiar with and hit a home run for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday. After hitting 10 homers out of the gate for Norfolk, Kjerstad was promoted to the big-league club on April 23. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, he only got 14 at-bats and had two hits in those at-bats. Kjerstad being sent back down has more to do with getting him everyday at-bats with that not happening at the big-league level. The Top-25 prospect has shown immense power on the farm, but it will likely take an injury or a trade for him to make an impact for managers in redraft leagues as there just is not enough for volume for him at the moment. Managers in dynasty leagues should continue to hold Kjerstad, even if it is not until 2025 that he makes a major impact.
Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman came up clutch for his team during Wednesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The switch-hitting smacked a two-run walkoff home run in the ninth to give the O's the win. This marked his second career walkoff blast and his third home run in his last four games. Rutschman continues to prove why he's arguably the best catcher in baseball right now. His OPS has jumped from .781 to .859 over the last three games.
Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that outfielder Austin Hays (calf) still has lingering effects from his left-calf injury, which is why he didn't start on Wednesday against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and was pinch-run for in the walk-off win. The 28-year-old didn't start on Wednesday, but he came off the bench as a pinch-hitter and hit a double before he was pulled for a pinch-runner. Hays just came off the injured list on Monday but apparently isn't healthy enough to serve as anything more than a pinch-hitter off the bench. Even if he were fully healthy after his stay on the IL, Hays would most likely be a bench player for the Orioles anyway given his slow start and with rookie Colton Cowser impressing offensively. Hays entered Wednesday's contest hitting .111 (5-for-45) on the year with no homers, two RBI and four runs scored.