There was widespread surprise when Jackson Holliday, the top prospect in baseball, didn’t secure a spot on the Baltimore Orioles’ major league roster after an impressive showing during Spring Training.
Given his stellar performance in the minors last year and his continued success in Spring Training, many anticipated him being a regular starter, particularly at second base, for the Orioles, who were expected to have a strong season.
Jackson Holliday, son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, has struggled immensely since his call-up to the Baltimore Orioles. His performance has been among the worst in all of baseball, with statistics from Baseball Reference highlighting his struggles.
Holliday’s current stat line is shockingly poor, resembling the numbers one might expect from a player making the leap from Division III baseball to the majors.
To put it into perspective, an average OPS+ in the majors is always 100, and anything significantly below that indicates a below-average hitter. Holliday’s OPS+ sits at a staggering negative 66, which is historically bad even for a rookie adjusting to major league pitching.
It might be wise for the Orioles to consider sending Jackson Holliday back down to AAA, especially considering his impressive OPS of 1.077 to begin the year. At just 20 years old, there’s no need to panic; he has plenty of time to develop and regain confidence. Unfortunately, things aren’t clicking for him at the moment.
Fortunately, despite Holliday’s struggles, the Orioles as a team are performing admirably. They’re currently on pace for 108 wins and have started the season with a solid record of 14-7.
