Jackson Holliday Gets Back On Track Following Norfolk Reset | Triple-A Best Tools
Jackson Holliday made his major league debut on April 10. That was expected to signal the end of the 20-year-old second baseman’s Triple-A tenure.
But after Holliday went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games for Baltimore, he found himself back at Norfolk for more seasoning.
Young players struggling to adapt to MLB is nothing new, as numerous Orioles examples illustrate.
Righthander Grayson Rodriguez ran up a 7.35 ERA in his first 10 big league starts in 2023. Following a tweak to his repertoire at Triple-A, he emerged as a steady rotation arm.
Outfielder Colton Cowser hit .115 in 26 games during an extended trial in Baltimore in 2023. Returning to Triple-A, he honed his selective aggression. This year, Cowser is a key Orioles regular and an American League Rookie of the Year favorite.
Even MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson got off to a slow start in his 2023 Rookie of the Year season, hitting .201 with a 31% strikeout rate through his first 50 games.
Holliday is trying to follow the same road to redemption.
In the big leagues back in April, Holliday struggled to hit high-velocity, elevated fastballs. So all of his side work in the International League was geared toward addressing that weakness.
The results indicate success. Holliday hit .316 in Triple-A at-bats ending with a fastball thrown 94 mph or harder. His OPS was .964.
Overall, his isolated slugging at Triple-A this season was higher than it had been since Low-A. A lot higher.
IL managers took note, voting Holliday the Best Batting Prospect and Best Strike-Zone Judgment in league Best Tools surveys.
After 63 games on optional assignment to Norfolk, Holliday was ready to assume a regular role in Baltimore. And when Jordan Westburg fractured his hand on July 31, Holliday was ready for prime time.
He hit a home run in his first game back in the big leagues, a sign that he is ready to hold down the keystone for the foreseeable future.
