Jackson Holliday Returns To The Big Leagues

Plus: J.J. Wetherholt collects his first pro hit & ranking every prospect traded at the deadline.

Four headliner type prospects lead today’s prospect report, including continued standout performances from Eduardo Tait and Gary Gill Hill. We also ranked all 89 prospects traded at the deadline for Baseball America subscribers.

Prospect Standouts

JJ Wetherholt, SS, Cardinals: The Cardinals’ first-round pick made his pro debut on Tuesday and wasted no time putting his name in the history books. In the fifth inning, facing Danny Carrion, Wetherholt turned around a fastball and sent it up the middle at 107.5 mph for a single and his first career hit.

Eduardo Tait, C, Phillies: After the season ended in the Florida Complex League, the Phillies promoted Tait to Low-A Clearwater to continue his year and give him his first test at full-season ball. So far, so good. On Tuesday, the 17-year-old crushed his second FSL homer. The blast, which came against Jupiter in an all-shark battle, came off an 89 mph fastball and traveled an estimated 348 down the right-field line at Clearwater’s BayCare Ballpark.

Gary Gill Hill, RHP, Rays: Gill Hill is one of the biggest breakout pitching prospects of the season. He was at it again on Tuesday, when he pitched seven solid innings against Carolina. He finished with one earned run on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts. For the season, he is now 4-1, 2.57 with 88 strikeouts and 18 walks in 84 innings at Low-A Charleston.

Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles: According to reports, Holliday, the game’s No. 2 prospect is headed back to the big leagues. Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft, made his big league debut this year but struggled mightily before being sent back to Triple-A. Since returning to the minor leagues—a stint interrupted by injury—the 20-year-old has hit .259/.421/.455 with 20 doubles and eight home runs.

Trade Deadline Coverage

Here’s what caught our attention yesterday:

NEARLY 90 PROSPECTS WERE ON THE MOVE YESTERDAY

Ranking Every Prospect Traded At The 2024 Deadline

While no Top 100 Prospects changed teams, more prospects than usual were traded at the deadline. We ranked all 89 of them, which includes a nice overall return for the Marlins at the top of the list.

FIVE DSL PROSPECTS WHO HAVE OUR ATTENTION

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Zander Mueth, RHP, Pirates: High school righty Zander Mueth is a long way away, but he might be worth the wait for the Pirates. The organization is no stranger to developing top pitching prospects from the prep ranks, and Mueth is already standing out. During his pro debut in the Florida Complex League this year, Mueth excelled with a 1.58 ERA in 51.1 innings, while striking out 56 batters.

In case you missed it…

Check out our live reaction to the biggest trade deadline prospect returns.