The Baltimore Orioles optioned the struggling young star Jackson Holliday back to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday. Orioles fans waited 633 days for the top prospect to be called up and make his major league debut. A little more than two weeks after his April 10th call up, the young infielder is headed back to the minors for more seasoning.
The start of Jackson Holliday’s major league career has not gone as many expected. Holliday struggled in his first 10 games in the majors, recording only two hits in 34 at-bats with 18 strikeouts.
The son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, the young infielder was drafted first overall by the Orioles two years ago. Holliday played with all four minor league affiliates for the Orioles last season and began his 2024 season with Triple-A Norfolk. He was batting .333/.482/.595 with two homers and nine RBI through 10 games at Triple-A before his promotion.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/gatOuLknN9
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 26, 2024
Orioles Top Prospect Jackson Holliday Optioned Back to Triple-A
Holliday came with high expectations as the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball. When he was called up by the Orioles, the hope was that the 20-year-old would have an immediate impact. Holliday said earlier this week that he “wasn’t expecting” his early struggles at the plate in the majors. Instead of giving up, Holliday continued to work hard and make adjustments.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and the Baltimore staff were impressed with how Holliday handled himself despite his struggles. “You’re talking about somebody who’s never failed before. It’s a tough place too. I don’t think anybody, except for the people that are down here in uni, understand how hard this is,” Hyde said. “He’s going to go through struggles, and that’s part of being a professional baseball player — how you deal with it, adversity, tough at-bats.”
Holliday has played just 28 career games in Triple-A. He will have to stay in the minors for 10 days before being recalled again. While in Norfolk, Holliday will have an opportunity to make adjustments and rebuild his confidence before returning to Baltimore.
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