Coming into 2024, Jackson Holliday was seen as one of the brightest young prospects in the entire sport.
He’d demolished minor league pitching in his first two professional seasons and most Orioles fans were disappointed when Holliday didn’t make the Opening Day roster last year.
Things quickly changed, as Holliday obliterated Triple-A in the early going and made his major league debut on April 10.
However, Holliday’s first taste of the majors didn’t go as expected. He looked over-matched during his major league stint in April and despite a couple inspiring moments after being recalled in August, he never quite found his footing in the batter’s box.
Not to worry though, because from what we’ve seen so far during spring training Holliday looks poised for a major breakout in 2025.
It seemingly started with a slight swing change at the end of last year. Holliday switched from a big leg-kick to a more subdued toe-tap, and in a very small sample in September he looked great. Fast forward to spring training and Holliday is hitting .296/.321/.444 with a homer and 3 steals in 28 plate appearances.
Orioles’ star second baseman has a great opportunity to make his first All Star appearance in 2025
One big X factor heading into this year is whether Gunnar Henderson will be available on Opening Day.
The superstar is dealing with an intercostal strain that he sustained last week and while the O’s have tried to sound optimistic about his prognosis, there’s still a chance that he aggravates the injury later this spring and has to miss some time.
If Henderson does have to start the year on the IL, or miss time in general, there’s a chance that Brandon Hyde shifts Holliday back to his natural position of shortstop in the interim.
Yes, the Orioles might recall one of Livan Soto or Luis Vasquez and play one of them at short, but if Henderson and Jorge Mateo are both unavailable, it throws a real wrench into the mix.
But if we can assume for a minute that the O’s decide to keep Holliday at second base and let him get comfortable there, there’s real reason to believe that the former number one overall prospect is in line for a breakout.
The improved performance after the swing change looks to be real, and he’s showing decent enough plate discipline at this point to suggest he’s ready to go.
Working in Holliday’s favor, at least in the conversation about him potentially becoming a first-time All Star in 2025 is that long-time Astros’ star Jose Altuve is being moved to left field to mitigate some of the impact of losing Kyle Tucker this winter.
With Altuve out of the picture, the big names left in the AL are Marcus Semien of the Rangers, Brandon Lowe of the Rays, and Gleyber Torres who signed with the Tigers this winter.
If Holliday is able to play to his potential, there will be limited resistance from the rest of the AL at second base.
Semien is already 34 and isn’t getting any younger. Holliday has as good a chance as anyone to get the All Star nod at second base, assuming he can continue making adjustments and hitting well.
