Holliday's offseason had 1 goal: Bounce back in '25

BALTIMORE -- After a disappointing 2024 rookie season, Jackson Holliday spent the offseason at home in Stillwater, Okla. The 21-year-old Orioles infielder began putting in the work necessary for him to ideally have better results in the big leagues in ‘25.

It’s easy to stay focused, of course, when Holliday can train at his family’s baseball compound alongside his dad, former All-Star Matt, and his younger brother, Ethan, the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft class.

Holliday has leaned on his father throughout his life, and this winter was no different. But there wasn’t any “tough love” required from Dad, who played 15 big league seasons and can provide the type of constructive criticism that most parents couldn’t. That wasn’t necessary.

“I understand pretty much what happened last year, and I don’t think he needs to come up to me and remind me,” Holliday said Friday evening at PBR Baltimore, a stop on the O’s Birdland Caravan tour this weekend. “I know what I need to do. I know I need to cut down strikeouts and continue to hit mistakes and hit fastballs, and that’s something that I think a lot of the guys who get to the big leagues understand, kind of, their swings. He’s very easy, and I can learn a lot from him.”

Not only does Holliday know what he needs to improve, but he’s adamant about doing so. With the start of Orioles Spring Training less than two weeks away -- pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota, Fla., on Feb. 12 -- he’s steadfast in his belief that 2025 will be a better year for him.

“I’m pretty confident,” Holliday said. “I’m excited with the progress I made this offseason and the experience that I had last year, so yeah, pretty confident.”

At this time last year, Holliday was the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball. He was a 20-year-old heading to Spring Training with a legitimate chance to break camp with Baltimore’s big league squad, though he ended up returning to Triple-A Norfolk to open the season.

Holliday didn’t stay there long, making his MLB debut on April 10 at Fenway Park in Boston. However, his first two big league stints were sandwiched around a return to the Minors, and the 2022 No. 1 overall Draft pick experienced his share of struggles in his split time in the Majors.

Over 60 games with the O’s, Holliday hit .189 with four doubles, two triples, five home runs, 23 RBIs and a .565 OPS. He showed flashes of his potential, but he struck out too often to have sustained success, fanning 69 times in 208 plate appearances.

During his offseason work, Holliday has focused on building upon the positives, making adjustments to his approach and “trying to clean some things up.” He has also trained in ways to improve both his strength and his speed.

“I’m definitely as strong as I’ve ever been,” Holliday said. “Been doing running stuff ... trying to make that a priority, to be able to steal bases and really impact the game in multiple different ways.”

The Orioles are optimistic Holliday can show considerable improvement during his sophomore campaign. They would benefit from youngsters such as Holliday, corner infielder Coby Mayo (MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 overall prospect) and outfielder Heston Kjerstad developing into key cogs of their lineup.

“I think we’re counting on them to settle in. These guys were great prospects and great Minor League players, and they have great swings,” general manager Mike Elias said Friday. “They just saw Major League Baseball and Major League pitching for the first time on a continual basis, and it’s not abnormal -- especially now -- to see young prospects come up and have kind of early results that those guys did. But they’ve been working hard all winter.

“I’m really hopeful those guys are going to take a step forward and have good seasons, and we’re projecting them to be big parts of our team.”

With All-Star Gunnar Henderson taking over the everyday role at shortstop last year, Holliday’s path to big league playing time remains at second base. He’ll have an opportunity to win the starting job there this spring, though Jorge Mateo, Ramón Urías and All-Star Jordan Westburg are all candidates to get reps.

Ideally, though, Baltimore could have Westburg settle in at third if Holliday seizes the job at second, allowing Mateo and Urías to then serve as valuable bench pieces.

Because nothing is guaranteed at this point, Holliday isn’t viewing himself as a front-runner for a 26-man roster spot, even if he is highly likely to make the team with a solid camp. He knows he’ll need to go to Sarasota and earn his place.

“We’ve got a really great roster, and I don’t think my mindset changes,” Holliday said. “It’s still trying to make the team and earning a spot, and a starting spot.”