Getty Jackson Holliday at batting practice with the Baltimore Orioles on May 13.
A disappointing 10-game stint to start his MLB career hasn’t swayed Jackson Holliday from a return to the majors in 2024. He wants to rejoin the Baltimore Orioles at some point this season.
Holliday said as much on June 26 when asked about his recovery from elbow soreness.
“I’m going to take some time and get it all healed up to hopefully make a run at the big league team after the All-Star break,” Holliday told David Hall of The Virginian-Pilot.
Holliday spent 11 days on the injured list before returning to the Norfolk Tide’s lineup on June 25. He’s been limited to a designated hitting role while he works through the elbow pain.
Hall reported that Holliday’s progressed to throwing drills in practice on his way back to his full-time role at second base.
MLB’s All-Star break is July 12 through July 16. Once it concludes, Holliday hopes to earn a return to the Orioles for their end-of-season stretch ahead of the playoffs.
The 20-year-old prospect is slashing .272/.437/.467 with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs with the Tides this season.
Holliday Struggled in 1st MLB Stint
Holliday, who opened 2024 as MLB’s consensus number one prospect, underwhelmed in his first stint in the majors. He went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games with Baltimore.
In a May 25 interview with Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Holliday opened up on the short-lived debut stint.
“It’s a little bit unfortunate,” Holliday told Cassell. “But to be able to come down here and kind of relax and work on things and be able to go back up there and compete at a high level and help impact the team is kind of the way that I’m looking at it. I mean, obviously, this isn’t where I want to be, I want to be in the big leagues. But just trying to be present and be where my feet are.”
After getting the call to the majors on April 9, he was optioned back to Triple-A just 17 days later, on April 26.
“I felt really good in spring training, and going into the beginning of the year, and obviously had a little of a down stretch,” Holliday told Cassell. “So just trying to build back up a little bit and get my confidence up.”
Elias on Holliday: ‘We’ve Got Very High Hopes for Him’
During the Tides’ latest win over the Charlotte Knights, general manager Mike Elias was asked about hypothetically trading Holliday.
He called the idea “tough” and told Melanie Newman that the Orioles are excited about the 20-year-old’s future in MLB.
“It’s a tough one to trade,” Elias said on June 27. “He’s the No. 1 prospect in minor league baseball, this is a hard talent to get your hands on, we have him, we’ve been developing him…and we’ve got very high hopes for him. He’s exceptionally far ahead of anyone in his age group so, not something we’re going to be eager to explore.”
Holliday’s outlook in Baltimore hasn’t changed with his 10-game debut or his elbow issues. It’s just a matter of when, not if, he returns to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.