At a time when the Orioles farm system gets major props from outlets throughout the sport, more encouraging news came this week. Baltimore already is ranked by several outlets as having the No. 1 farm system in baseball and this follows a 2022 season when both Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson were ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball and Grayson Rodriguez was ranked as the No. 1 pitcher.

In this article this week, which summarized a podcast, MLBPipeline.com’s Jim Callis predicted that O’s infield prospect Jackson Holliday would be ranked as their No. 1 prospect in the top 100 by the end of the 2023 season. That would give the O’s three No. 1 players over a two-year period.

The podcast/article was rather promising about the Orioles as both Callis and fellow analyst Jonathan Mayo predicted that Henderson would be voted the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year.

Saying Henderson is “everything he was cracked up to be,” Callis adds he would vote Henderson the No. 1 prospect right now and currently he ranks No. 2 on the MLBPipeline.com board behind Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez.

In that same article, Callis also projected Holliday to be the MLBPipeline.com Hitter of the Year for 2023 as Henderson was for the outlet last season.

The Orioles' No. 1-ranked farm system currently features six players ranked in the Baseball America top 100 prospects list. That is a strong number. And if the O’s still have those six – and they likely should – when the publication releases a new top 100 list in January heading into 2023, that would be an Orioles first.

Since 1990, when Baseball America began releasing a top 100 list each January, the O’s have had as many as five players ranked, but never six.

Currently, they have the No. 1-rated player in Gunnar Henderson, in addition to Grayson Rodriguez (No. 4), Jackson Holliday (No. 38), DL Hall (No. 55), Colton Cowser (No. 88) and Jordan Westburg (No. 89).

Among the 33 lists Baseball America has released, only three times have the O’s had five rated, and it has happened each of the last two years and also in 2008.

In 2008, it was Matt Wieters (12), Chris Tillman (67), Radhames Liz (69), Troy Patton (78) and Nolan Reimold (91).

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias has said the Orioles' current top 10 prospects list is about as good as any he’s ever seen. That is high praise since he was involved with Houston’s rise to the top of big league baseball and they had some pretty strong young talent there too.

Today I am taking a look at and providing a brief comment on each player on Baseball America's list of the Orioles' top 10 prospects.

These are all names that should be well-known to most Orioles fans by now. Three have already seen the majors.

The Orioles pulled off a rare feat last season when they had two different players ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball by Baseball America: catcher Adley Rutschman and later infielder Gunnar Henderson.

No. 1 – IF Gunnar Henderson: There is plenty to like here, and Henderson will likely begin next year as Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect, as he is today. I mean, what is going to change between now and then? Henderson’s stay at the top, though, will end when he gets just 15 more big league at-bats and thus will no longer be “prospect-eligible,” as they say. However - and this will, no doubt, confuse some - he will still be eligible to win the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year Award.

In case you missed it, Aaron Judge re-signed with the Yankees. It got pretty extensive coverage. And yes, most of the non-Yankees fans in the game are ready to move on to something else now.

As it relates to the Orioles, they added right-handed pitcher Kyle Gibson in recent days, but their search for a pitcher they can slot toward the top of their rotation is ongoing. Their choices are lessening.

The biggest pitching fish, or one of the three when free agency began, lefty Carlos Rodón is still out there. It would be a surprise if he ends up with the Orioles, but what a surprise it would be. Other pitchers that might have been in play for the Orioles have come off the board.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker signed with the Phillies for four years at $72 million. Right-hander Jameson Taillon joined the Cubs for four years at $68 million. José Quintana is joining the Mets and Andrew Heaney is headed to Texas.

The team that signs Rodón will lose a draft pick, as he rejected a qualifying offer. Same applies to Chris Bassitt and Nathan Eovaldi. Kodai Senga, with no draft pick attached, could be signing soon, per reports, while lefty Sean Manaea and righty Noah Syndergaard are still out there.

Today a bit of a follow up to yesterday’s article about how the Orioles’ 2022 draft class fared so well in stats like walk rate and on-base percentage. This is important because for years the Orioles at the big-league level have not excelled in these stats.

At the MLB level, the Orioles last year posted a walk-rate of 7.9 percent per plate appearance, which was just under the MLB average of 8.2. The Orioles rated seventh in the American League and 16^th in MLB in team walk rate for last season. In terms of OBP, the Orioles number of .305 was below the major league average of .312. The O’s rated 11^th in the AL and 22^nd in MLB in OBP last year. So, there is room for improvement.

With the ’22 draft class producing a collective .400 OBP for nine position players, which was second among all 2022 MLB Draft classes and a walk rate of 17.3, ranking first in the majors, the future on offense for Birdland, could be bright.

At least the Orioles could be evolving into producing a future lineup that features a group of tough outs that can work counts and will take a walk. Keep escalating opponent pitch counts and turning over the batting order. It should lead to more runs being scored.

Seeing so many young players get off to good starts in the plate-discipline stats, led by 18-year-old Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall draft pick last summer, was encouraging. The kid recorded a .489 OBP with a 27.8 walk rate in his debut pro season.

In the 20-round MLB Draft last summer, the Orioles selected 10 position players and 10 pitchers. They signed nine of the position players. And in what was clearly a small sample which should be noted, that group of nine showed some outstanding plate discipline which could bode well for their future MLB chances.

As a group of nine players, the Orioles draft class produced a collective .400 OBP to rank second only to Seattle's draft class. The Mariners also had nine players that produced a collective .405 OBP.

But the Orioles did rank No. 1 in MLB with a draft class walk rate of 17.3 with San Diego (also nine players) second at 16.2.

Among O’s minor league players with 50 or more plate appearances last year, no player had a better walk-to-strikeout rate as a hitter than O’s No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday. He also led the organization with a 27.8 walk rate. He is just 18 years old.

Over 20 games between the Florida Complex League and low-A Delmarva, Holliday walked 25 times with just 12 strikeouts. That is a robust 2.08 walk-to-strikeout ratio, the best on the O's farm. Maxwell Costes, a non-drafted free agent from the University of Maryland was next at 1.50 with Adley Rutschman third at 1.38.

For young Jackson Holliday, a lot was expected and a lot was delivered. The player the Orioles took No. 1 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft had a pretty solid 20-game pro debut.

It started with him tearing it up in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League for eight games and followed with 12 games at Single-A Delmarva where he certainly held his own.

Between the two levels at just age 18, Holliday showed a great batting eye and he walked 25 times with just 12 strikeouts. He ended the year ranked as the Orioles' No. 3 prospect behind Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez, and in national top 100s, he is rated No. 13 by MLBPipeline.com and No. 38 by Baseball America.

In his first season after being a high school drafted player in 2019, Henderson played in 29 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and batted .259/.331/.370 with a .701 OPS, 11 walks and 28 strikeouts. He had a 9.1 walk rate and 23.1 strikeout rate.

Holliday in eight FCL games batted .409/.576/.591 with a 1.167 OPS, 10 walks and two strikeouts. In the FCL, he had a 30.3 walk rate and 6.1 strikeout rate. Then in 12 games with the Shorebirds, he hit .238/.439/.333 with a .772 OPS, 15 walks to 10 strikeouts, producing a 26.3 walk rate and 17.5 strikeout rate.

The first post-World Series mailbag has been emptied. Much like my hopes for a Game 7.

There’s nothing better in sports. And it delays the actual offseason for one more day.

I’ve grown to love the period of calm. A few small-scale transactions and some announcements on awards, but that’s about it.

(I picked the Astros in six games, but I digress …)

Now we’re ripe for rumors. I’ve already seen one prediction that the Orioles will sign Carlos Correa.

Having too many good players is not really a problem for any major league club. As we look down the road a year or two at the Orioles infield, it is starting to get crowded between players we’ve already seen in Baltimore and players on the way.

Of the current top 18 players on the O’s top 30 prospects list via MLBPipeline.com, nine are infielders, and seven of the nine have played at least as high as Double-A already. The depth is strong.

Gunnar Henderson, at least for now, is still prospect eligible and is the club’s No. 1 prospect with Jackson Holliday at No. 3, Jordan Westburg No. 5, Coby Mayo No. 7, Connor Norby No. 11, Max Wagner No. 15, Darell Hernaiz No. 16, Joey Ortiz No 17 and César Prieto No. 18.

Only four players can start on the infield each day, they tell me.

How will the Orioles handle this? Will there be trades? Will any of these players have to move positions?

Tyler Wells threw his second bullpen session today and keeps making progress in his eventual return from a left oblique injury.

Wells is nearing a live batting practice session to get him reacclimated to facing hitters.

“It’s going very well,” Hyde said. “Threw his second bullpen, feels great after. All positive news from there.”

The Orioles haven’t determined Well’s role after he makes it back onto the active roster. Building him back up as a starter will take longer, which could influence them to make him a reliever.

“We’re still going to work some things out,” Hyde said.

The Orioles begin a crucial non-division series tonight with the White Sox in town for three games.

Crucial no longer seems like a necessary designation. It's redundant. They're all big.

Every tie-breaking scenario comes into play with a packed wild card race, and the Orioles won three of four in Chicago back in June. Head-to-head results are important.

They missed out on a sweep after Dylan Cease, who starts tonight, held them to one run and struck out 13 batters in seven innings. They scored two unearned runs in the ninth off Kendall Graveman after consecutive errors by first baseman José Abreu in a 4-3 loss.

So long ago that Jonathan Arauz homered and had a run-scoring single.

Tonight’s game between the Orioles and Blue Jays has been postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader on Monday, Sept. 5.

The first game starts at 1:05 p.m. The second game is slated to begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

Fans holding tickets for the originally scheduled 1:05 p.m. game on Sept. 5 should use them for both games of the doubleheader.

Tickets for tonight’s game aren’t valid for the doubleheader. Fans may exchange the value of their tickets toward any remaining regular season home game this season, including the doubleheader, based on availability.

The first 15,000 fans ages 15 and over attending the doubleheader will receive a Ryan Mountcastle t-shirt.

It has finally happened. The Double-A Bowie Baysox are rolling. It happened later than we thought but the Baysox are making up for lost time now.

After going 27-42 in the first-half Eastern League race, Bowie has surged into first place in its division in the second half, going 20-8 heading into Thursday’s game. The Baysox have a few scorching hot hitters and a bullpen that has posted a 2.48 ERA in the second half after posting a 4.78 ERA earlier.

Among the hottest hitters is shortstop Joey Ortiz, the club’s fourth-round pick in 2019 from New Mexico State. The Orioles' first three selections in that draft were Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Kyle Stowers, and they took Ortiz as their fifth pick.

He got off to a very slow start this season after undergoing season-ending left shoulder surgery last June. He ended this June batting .206 with a .596 OPS. Then he got on fire for the Baysox in July and produced a batting line of .404/.438/.674 with an OPS of 1.112.

“He had an elite shoulder injury that is difficult to come back from, and I think he has finally found his strength and his groove,” said Matt Blood, the Orioles' director of player development. “And he’s been making little adjustments all along the way. This is the player we saw last year before he got hurt. Probably a combination of getting fully healthy and strong as well as making adjustments to the league and the pitching he’s seen this year. Joey and that Bowie team are playing fantastic.”

You would certainly assume that if Jackson Holliday ever seeks out Adley Rutschman for advice on being the No. 1 overall draft pick, Rutschman will be there to answer any questions he has.

But when he was asked yesterday if he has any advice now for Holliday, you had to figure Rutschman was not going to dispense any just yet. At least not through the media.

“I’m sure he has gotten a lot of advice,” said Rutschman, the Orioles' choice for the top overall pick of 2019, before Wednesday’s game. “He has good mentors around him, so I’m sure they’ve been telling him all he needs to hear. For me, it was just trying to compartmentalize things and not let anything get too much to where I wasn’t enjoying the moment.”

Super agent Scott Boras, who reps the younger Holliday, was also at Wednesday’s introductory press conference, where the O’s presented their latest top draft selection and third 1/1 pick in club history.

Boras said having a father (Matt) who played so long and so well in the majors and a strong family unit is going to serve Jackson Holliday well now as he embarks on his pro career. He is leaving today for Florida and eventually will be playing in games in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

Shortstop Jackson Holliday signed his first professional contract yesterday, the $8.19 million bonus setting a record for a high school selection. A big-time perk for going one/one.

Holliday hasn’t made an extravagant purchase or drawn up a shopping list. He smiled about it yesterday, one of those moments that reminded you of his youth, that he’s still a kid.

“I already got a car,” he said, “so nothing yet.”

He has plenty of time. And a family that’s instilled the right values.

Holliday never thought about doing something else with his life, to pursue a different dream, and there are witnesses to it in his household. Never a time when he wanted to ditch the sport that his father, Matt, played in the majors for 15 seasons.

The Orioles third-ever No. 1 overall MLB Draft pick arrived at Camden Yards today. But not for good this time. Jackson Holliday, taken No. 1 overall by the team July 17, has signed his first pro contract and will report to the O’s camp in Sarasota, Fla. tomorrow.

He is going to start his pro career playing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.

“I’m very, very excited to start playing,” the 18-year-old Holliday said at today’s introductory press conference that also featured O’s executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and Holliday’s agent Scott Boras. “It’s been a little bit since I’ve been able to compete on the baseball field. So very excited to get down to Florida and get going. This is what I wanted to do as long as I can remember. It’s a blessing to be where I’m sitting right now.”

Holliday got a bonus of $8.19 million, a record for a high school selection. He produced prodigious 41-game high school stats of .685/.749/1.392 with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 homers and 79 RBIs. His 89 hits set a national high school record.

He gets scouting tool grades of 55 or better across the board with his hit tool, running and arm grading out at 60 by Baseball America.

The family tables have turned for the Hollidays.

Jackson Holliday is no longer “Matt’s son,” as he’s been referenced for most of his life. Matt Holliday, who had a 15-year major league career and made seven All-Star teams, was introduced today as “Jackson’s dad” to begin a press conference at Camden Yards.

Much to his amusement.

The former outfielder repeated the line before and after sitting down in front of the cameras and recorders. It already felt natural. It gave him another reason to be proud.

The Orioles selected Jackson with the first-overall pick in the MLB Draft, signed him to a contract this afternoon and introduced him to the local media. Matt, wife Leslee, children Ethan, Reed and Gracyn and Jackson's girlfriend Chloe Cox sat in the front row as Jackson buttoned his Orioles jersey and pulled down his cap.

The Orioles are ready to unleash another prospect on major league opponents.

Terrin Vavra, acquired from the Rockies as part of the 2020 Mychal Givens trade, has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll be on the bench tonight with the Rays starting left-hander Shane McClanahan.

Vavra is batting .324/.435/.451 with 14 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 18 RBIs, 28 walks and 36 strikeouts in 45 games with Norfolk. He missed five weeks with a strained right hamstring.

For the month of July, Vavra is slashing .296/.441/.444 with 16 hits in 54 at-bats. He was 17-for-52 (.327) in April and 2-for-4 in May before the injury.

“He’s been swinging the ball well all year in Norfolk,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “He played a few positions. And we’re so right-handed that adding a left-handed bat is nice for us. And good to see a young guy playing well in Triple-A get rewarded with getting called up to the big leagues.”

The Orioles have an agreement in place with prep shortstop Jackson Holliday, the first-overall pick in the MLB Draft. The next step before his official signing.

Holliday is getting a record deal for a high school player, slightly more than the $8.185 million bonus that outfielder Druw Jones received from the Diamondbacks as the second-overall selection, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

The first selection is slotted at $8,842,200. The Orioles are holding $16,924,000 in their bonus pool.

The left-handed hitting Holliday 18, set a national record with 89 hits in 41 games at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma, passing J.T. Realmuto, while batting .685 with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs, 79 RBIs, 74 runs scored, a .749 on-base percentage and a 1.392 slugging percentage.

Holliday was the No. 2 overall draft prospect by MLB.com and No. 3 by Baseball America. The four-year starter batted .500 (62-for-124) with 16 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 57 RBIs, 54 runs scored and 19 stolen bases in 37 games as a junior and was named to USA Baseball’s 18U National Team in 2021.

When the Orioles made their third No. 1 overall MLB Draft pick in team history on Sunday night, the pick was a popular one with a couple of the MLB Network analysts. They reacted quite favorably on the telecast when the O’s selected high school shortstop Jackson Holliday from Stillwater, Okla.

The son of long-time big league outfielder Matt Holliday, Jackson was Baseball America’s national High School Player of the Year. Holliday, who gets 60 grades from scouts for his hit tool, running and arm, is age 18 and hit .685/.749/1.392 (89-for-130) with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs, 74 runs scored, 79 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 40 games during his senior season. His 89 hits set a national high school record.

He follows Ben McDonald in 1989 and Adley Rutschman in 2019 as O’s 1/1 picks and is the first high school position player the team made its top draft pick since Manny Machado in 2010.

The slot amount to sign Holliday is listed at $8,842,200.

“They didn’t cut a deal here,” said Jim Callis of MLBPipeline.com on the MLB Network draft telecast. “They took one of the best players. I think Jackson Holliday is probably the best combination of hitting ability and ceiling in this draft. He plays on the infield, Druw Jones (drafted second) is an outfielder, there is defensive value here. I like Harold's (Reynolds) Bobby Witt Jr. parallel. He is a five-tool shortstop. I can’t think of too many players - and Jackson Holliday is one - that got better in every phase of the game (this season). Better hitter, stronger, faster, better arm, better shortstop as a senior. He was a good player coming in and he’s a great player now. I love this pick for the Orioles.”