BALTIMORE — Less than an hour after the Orioles\u2019 season-ending loss to the Royals in the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 2, Jackson Holliday stood at his corner locker inside the home clubhouse at Camden Yards and sorted his belongings. He never played during Baltimore\u2019s brief two-game postseason appearance, but he still felt the disappointment.<\/p>\n
Only 20, Holliday showed a maturity beyond his years during an up-and-down rookie season. He did so again while reflecting in the wake of a tough early exit for the O\u2019s.<\/p>\n
There were encouraging moments during Holliday\u2019s 60-game debut campaign — his first hit on April 14, a Eutaw Street grand slam for his first homer on July 31, a strong showing in Cleveland at the start of August and a home run frenzy that shortly followed.<\/p>\n
The numbers mostly showcase the struggles, though. Holliday, who entered the 2024 season as baseball\u2019s top prospect, hit .189 (36-for-190) with a .565 OPS. He struck out 69 times over 208 plate appearances.<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise that Holliday was already looking forward to the spring. Baseball has always been his entire life, having grown up as the son of former All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday.<\/p>\n
The young Holliday is eager to report to a 2025 camp in which he\u2019ll now have MLB experience to draw upon while trying to solidify a spot as the Orioles\u2019 starting second baseman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m most excited to have a real number. No, I\u2019m just kidding,\u201d joked Holliday, who will wear his No. 7 in Sarasota, Fla., rather than the No. 87 he donned the past two springs. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have this experience and go into a Spring Training with being around the big league group and being able to play in big league games and to go into Spring Training with a different mindset than I had last year and the year before.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Holliday didn\u2019t play much during the final week of the regular season, as both All-Star second baseman Jordan Westburg and veteran third baseman Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas returned from the injured list on Sept. 22 and reclaimed starting roles. Still, an important development occurred for the youngster at that time.<\/p>\n Over his final four games, the left-handed-hitting Holliday modified his swing mechanics. Rather than using a big kick of his right leg, he simplified his approach by instead tapping his right toe ahead of making contact. He closed out the season by going 5-for-7 (.714) with a double and three walks in 10 plate appearances.<\/p>\n \u201cI really liked his swing a lot. He was getting his foot down early. He was able to be on time with the fastball a little bit more, especially the elevated fastball,\u201d manager Brandon Hyde said. \u201cThe swing was a lot shorter. His eyes were wide open. He loved how it felt.\u201d<\/p>\n Holliday\u2019s willingness to adjust is another reason why the Orioles are excited about his future. And make no mistake about it, the organization still believes that future will be bright.<\/p>\n General manager Mike Elias said at the end of the season that he remains \u201cincredibly bullish\u201d on Holliday, who showed \u201csome really good splashes.\u201d Third-base coach Tony Mansolino, who serves as Baltimore\u2019s infield instructor, believes Holliday could eventually win a Gold Glove at second, a position he learned on the fly last spring after mostly playing shortstop all his life.<\/p>\n Despite immediate postseason departures each of the past two years, the O\u2019s are set up well for long-term success, especially if Holliday reaches his full potential. He plans to do so, and he expects big things from his club down the line.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guys that are in this clubhouse are going to take away from getting eliminated in the Wild Card, and guys that are in the Minor Leagues that are coming up — I think we have a lot to look forward to as an organization and as a team,\u201d Holliday said. \u201cI think it\u2019s all positives, besides losing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BALTIMORE — Less than an hour after the Orioles\u2019 season-ending loss to the Royals in the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 2, Jackson Holliday stood… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n