Orioles GM Mike Elias has never been prouder of his prospect hoarding thanks to Jackson Holliday

Orioles GM Mike Elias has been notorious for hoarding his top prospects even if that means he has a ton of infielders.
Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles / Greg Fiume/GettyImages
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The Baltimore Orioles have one of the best teams and best farm systems in the entire league. This combination of talent is truly rare. Looking at the other top teams, the Orioles are one of the only teams that can say this. The Yankees, Dodgers and Braves have talented MLB rosters, but lackluster farm systems.

It's been easy for Baltimore to achieve this because their General Manager Mike Elias has hoarded his top prospects and been patient. Prospects like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday have been brought up through the Baltimore system.

Despite trade rumors, none of these top talents were ever mentioned by the Orioles. They were holding them and that's why they didn't end up making a blockbuster deal for Luis Robert, Tarik Skubal or Garrett Crochet.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Orioles GM Mike Elias didn't entertain the idea of trading top prospects this season

Yes, the Orioles have the prospect capital to make a deal like this happen. They could have packaged four or five of their top prospects together to go get Crochet very easily, but that's just not how Elias rolls.

MLB insider Bob Nightengale recently covered this subject, noting specific things that Elias had said about their top prospects after the trade deadline passed. Here's what Nightengale had to say about it:

The names of Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo never even came up in trade talks, GM Mike Elias said.

The future is bright in Baltimore because Elias has been so patient, and this patience is finally paying off thanks to Jackson Holliday's tremendous play since being recalled to the big leagues.

In his first stint, Holliday had a strikeout rate near 50 percent and a batting average under .100. But this time around, he's hitting the ball hard and slugging home runs. He looks so much better with a better approach and much harder contact.

Holliday is finally looking like the player that everybody in Baltimore knew he could be. The first stint in the big leagues was scary, but the talent and potential for the young shortstop is just so ridiculously high that it was obvious that Elias was going to hold onto him.

Mayo has also come up recently to replace the injured Jordan Westburg. He hasn't excelled like many expected, but he's also a tremendous talent that Elias will be very patient with. Samuel Basallo is going to follow in their footsteps in the new few years. He's one of the best bats in the minor leagues.

Elias couldn't be prouder of himself for hoarding these prospects. He's laid out the blueprint for a sustainable rebuild.

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