Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg prove Orioles may not need Jackson Holliday after all

For years, the idea with the Baltimore Orioles as the team ultimately saw losses pile up for years on years was that the cavalry was coming. That cavalry, of course, was one of the most loaded farm systems that we've ever seen. And now that those young players are starting to populate the big-league roster, the Orioles are reaping the rewards.

Most recently, though, it feels like the eyes of baseball have been on MLB's top prospect, Jackson Holliday. While he failed to make the major-league roster out of spring training, he got the call up to the bigs in April. But as was well-documented, that foray in the majors didn't work out well as he hit sub-.100 with half of his plate appearances ending in strikeouts.

But some of the other young guns who have arrived on the Orioles roster are making fans forget about Holliday, at least for now. Sunday's matinee and rubber match against the Phillies was the perfect example of that.

Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg proving Orioles don't need Jackson Holliday

Gunnar Henderson, in the midst of an All-Star season, got things started for the O's as he deposited a baseball 419 feet into the centerfield stands with his first plate appearance of the day and giving Baltimore an early 1-0 lead at Camden Yards.

Making that kind of swing in a full count to start the game is star-level stuff from the 22-year-old shortstop. Westburg then made his first big contribution the following inning with a single, which proved big when Colton Cowser -- yet another rising star for Baltimore -- drove him in with a homer of his own.

But Westburg, playing Holliday's position at second base for the Orioles, had something a little more special for his final act. With the Phillies having clawed back into it and the score at 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Westburg decided to join his teammate Henderson in the bleachers with a 377-foot blast to right-center.

Giving the O's an 8-3 lead with that three-run blast, all but securing the series for Baltimore -- which it eventually did.

And really, this speaks to how perfectly the Orioles rebuild has gone. Holliday is still only 20 years old and, while he didn't find immediate big-league success, the fact of the matter is that this team doesn't need him right now. Westburg is a capable second baseman, even if that's not his primary position, and can give Holliday all the time he needs. Henderson, meanwhile, comprises the other half of the middle-infield pairing and is already flirting with MVP consideration.

This isn't writing off Holliday. But right now, he's irrelevant for the Orioles and fans simply because he's not a necessary part to their success. Perhaps even better for Baltimore is that, whenever the top prospect is ready and starts to show out at the major-league level, it'll likely be a luxury for the O's rather than a necessity, which is a terrifying notion for the rest of baseball.