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Fantasy baseball: Baltimore bats lead prospects to watch

When will Orioles prospect Heston Kjerstad get a chance to see consistent at-bats with Baltimore? Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Once upon a time, Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout hit .220 with a .672 OPS over 40 games and 135 plate appearances in 2011, his first exposure to the major leagues. Things went much better in 2012, as Trout hit 30 home runs, stole 49 bases and won AL Rookie of the Year honors. Still, this future Hall of Famer initially struggled to hit big league pitching, as most prospects do.

This hardly means that Baltimore Orioles SS/2B Jackson Holliday is going to be among the best players in fantasy baseball in 2025, but fantasy managers should give things a chance, even in redraft formats. Hitting a baseball consistently against today's power pitchers is hard, but the special players find a way to shine. Holliday delivered only two singles and two walks in 36 plate appearances over 10 games (with a .125 BABIP), striking out 18 times. While this is hardly a large sample size, it was apparently enough for a trip back to Triple-A Norfolk.