No. 1 prospect Holliday returns to Majors: 'I'm definitely more prepared'

BALTIMORE -- With all of the hype and the sky-high expectations -- as well as the challenges that come with any player trying to find his footing in the big leagues for the first time -- Jackson Holliday can only describe his first stint in MLB as “all a blur.”

MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect didn’t meet his own lofty expectations, either. The 20-year-old infielder (and son of seven-time All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday) planned on never returning to the Minors after debuting on April 10 at Fenway Park, and then he got optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on April 26.

Back with the Orioles for a second stint -- recalled prior to Wednesday afternoon’s series finale vs. the Blue Jays at Camden Yards -- Holliday has the same objective this time around: stick in the Majors for good.

“That was my goal last time. It’s definitely my goal this time,” Holliday said, “to be able to come up here and help this team win and, hopefully, make a long playoff run.”

There’s a big opportunity for Holliday to get extended playing time for Baltimore in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Trade Deadline.

Since Jorge Mateo (left elbow subluxation) went on the injured list last Thursday, Connor Norby had gotten the bulk of the reps at second base for the past week. Now, Norby is with the Marlins after getting dealt in the Trevor Rogers trade, and Mateo was moved to the 60-day IL, meaning he won’t be back until late September, at the earliest.

Holliday, who made all 10 of his MLB appearances in April at second, started there and batted eighth on Wednesday.

“I think this is a big chance for him, and we're going to give him some time,” general manager Mike Elias said. “Hopefully, it's going to be really good. I'm really happy for him and proud of the work that he put in. I don't want to put any pressure on him -- this is a time period where he's got some runway in front of him because of the vacancy that we have at second base right now."

During his return to Triple-A, Holliday used his big league struggles as motivation for improvement. The 2022 No. 1 overall Draft pick surely wasn’t happy about his showing with Baltimore, where he went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts to open his MLB career. His only hits were both singles, and he recorded one RBI, two walks and five runs scored.

Those aren’t typical numbers for Holliday, who rapidly ascended the Orioles’ Minor League ranks in 2023, when he played at all four full-season affiliates -- Single-A Delmarva, High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

The big leagues were tougher than any of those levels.

“Obviously, this is the best league in the world, and [I] definitely got shown that,” Holliday said. “I feel like I’m definitely more prepared than I was last time.”

After returning to Norfolk, Holliday slashed .259/.421/.455 with 20 doubles, eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 63 games. In July, he hit .277 with a .948 OPS over 19 games for the Tides.

Holliday had a stint on the IL from June 14-25 due to right elbow inflammation, and at first, he exclusively started at designated hitter upon his return to Norfolk’s lineup. But he began to play the field again after the All-Star break, making five starts at second and one at shortstop over his past nine Triple-A games.

When Holliday wasn’t on defense, he was working on his offensive mechanics.

“I’m someone who likes to work my all-around game, so getting better at defense and offense, trying to cut down swing-and-miss, especially on fastballs,” Holliday said. “It’s important to hit strikes, and that’s kind of the main goal -- flatten out the swing a little bit and getting back to what I was doing a little bit last year and just a little bit different of a setup and a little bit more legs.”

Because of his talent and his pedigree, Holliday has been in the spotlight his entire baseball life. The attention on him was possibly never greater than earlier this year, when he fell short in his bid to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster out of Spring Training, then debuted less than two weeks into the season.

The buzz at the start of his second arrival in the big leagues may seem a bit quieter, but that could change in a hurry. If Holliday starts to reach his massive potential in the next few weeks, he could become a key contributor for the O’s in their push for a second straight American League East title and a deep postseason run.

It sure seems like a matter of when, not if, Holliday will become a talented MLB player. But he won’t be putting any additional pressure on himself.

“I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m going to enjoy being here and being present,” Holliday said. “Glad to be here.”