Baltimore Orioles Superstar Rookie Continues Worrisome Struggles

It has not been a great start for the Baltimore Orioles coveted rookie as he continues to put up worrisome numbers.

Apr 13, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

There was a ton of excitement surrounding the Baltimore Orioles when they made the decision to call up their No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday.

Considered the top player in all of minor league baseball, there were high expectations for the son of seven-time All-Star, Matt Holliday.

Much of the hype was warranted as well. He slashed .323/.442/.499 with 12 home runs, 51 extra-base hits, and 75 RBI during 125 games of his first full professional season in 2023.

Yet, things have not translated to the Major League level for Holliday.

Entering Wednesday's contest against the Minnesota Twins, he came in with just one hit out of 22 at-bats. In the finale, he wracked up another zero hit performance, going 0-3 at the plate with two strikeouts.

The struggling youngster now has a slash line of .040/.077/.040 with 14 strikeouts in 25 at-bats.

At 20 years old, a learning curve was to be expected, but when compared to other prospects his age who are playing regularly for their clubs, like Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill, it's clear that Holliday is behind both.

Chourio has 14 hits in 61 at-bats with three homers and 11 RBI over his 15 games.

Merrill is 22-66 with a homer and eight RBI in 22 games.

While there are certainly people panicking about the slow start from Holliday, it should also be pointed out that this doesn't mean that he won't ever become a good player at this level.

Plenty of the game's greatest players over the years, like Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mike Trout, have begun in a slump.

They were all able to break out of it and turn in Hall of Fame careers.

It's too early to project whether Holliday will become the type of player like any of these three were, but one thing is for certain, he'll start hitting at this level, and once he does, the Orioles' offense will go to the next level.