Baltimore Orioles Rookie Jackson Holliday Off to Historically Cold Start to Career

Jackson Holliday has just one hit – a single – in his first 30 MLB at-bats, giving the Baltimore Orioles' top prospect a brutal stat line through nine games.

Apr 16, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) walks up to the plate. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball's top prospect, Jackson Holliday, has not enjoyed much success in the big leagues thus far.

The Baltimore Orioles second baseman has appeared in nine MLB games since getting called up on April 10, and he has just one hit to show for it. It took Holliday 14 at-bats to finally break through with a base knock, but he has fallen victim to an 0-for-16 cold streak ever since.

Per Underdog Fantasy, Holliday's .033 batting average and .127 OPS are the lowest through a player's first nine career games – minimum 30 at-bats – since Gary Disarcina in 1990.

Jackson Holliday’s .033 BA and .127 OPS are both the lowest through a player’s first 9 career games (min. 30 AB) since Gary Disarcina in 1990.

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 21, 2024

Disarcina went on to play 12 seasons for the California Angels, making an All-Star Game in 1995 with a batting average over .300. Of course, expectations for Holliday are much higher, given his lineage and production at the lower levels, but Disarcina's ability to bounce back from a dreadful start could at least be encouraging for Orioles fans.

Baltimore selected Holliday with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. His father, Matt Holliday, was a seven-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger with the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals.

In 155 minor league games, Jackson Holliday hit .321 with 15 home runs, 93 RBI, 29 stolen bases and a .949 OPS. He hit .311 with a .954 OPS in Spring Training this year, then he hit .333 with a 1.077 OPS in 10 Triple-A games before getting called up.

Holliday's WAR may be sitting at -0.5, but the Orioles are 7-2 when he plays. Baltimore owns the fifth-best record in baseball and is on pace for a 108-54 season.

The 20-year-old infielder has a long road ahead of him, and he will surely be given a decently long leash to work his way out of this slump. With the Orioles looking to win a second-straight AL East title and push for World Series contention, though, it remains to be seen just how long they're willing to let Holliday struggle at the major league level before sending him back down.

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