Getty Image / Scott Taetsch
Many were surprised when Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday didn’t make the big league club out of Spring Training. The number-one overall prospect in all of baseball tore the cover off the ball last year in the minors and picked up right where he left off in Spring Training with a huge spring.
It didn’t take long for him to be called up, as he got the call on April 10, less than two weeks into the season. I think most expected him to hit the ground running as the everyday second baseman for a really good Orioles team.
Yeah, that’s not what’s happened. The son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday has been one of the worst players in all of baseball since getting called up.
Courtesy of baseball reference, here’s Jackson Holliday’s stat line so far.
That is wildly bad! That is the stat line someone pulled out of Division III baseball to take 30 at bats would have in the big leagues. To put it in perspective, the average OPS+ in the Major Leagues is always 100. an OPS+ of 60 is not a major league hitter. Jackson Holliday has a NEGATIVE 66 OPS+.
Yes, sometimes players can get off to a slow start adjusting to big league pitching. But, this is historically bad.
Jackson Holliday’s .033 BA and .127 OPS are both the lowest through a player’s first 9 career games (min. 30 AB) since Gary Disarcina in 1990.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 21, 2024
The Orioles should probably send Jackson Holliday back down to AAA, where he had an OPS of 1.077 to start the year, to regain some confidence. At just 20-years-old, there’s no reason to panic. It’s just not working for him right now.
Thankfully, the rest of the Orioles, as a whole, are playing well. They’re on an 108-win pace and are off to a 14-7 start.