Orioles Disappointing Second Baseman Could Be Difference in Division Win Over Yankees

The Baltimore Orioles must get better production from Jackson Holliday if they want to get back in the AL East lead

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have fallen three games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East, and Jackson Holliday's not helping close that gap.

The team's former top prospect and no. 1 overall pick in 2022, Holliday is on his second stint in the majors this season and it's going almost as badly as the first one did.

Making the major league roster out of spring training at just 20 years old, the second baseman hit just .059 with a .170 OPS in his first 36 plate appearances before being optioned to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides on April 24th. He struck out 18 times in those ten games while picking up just two singles.

The infielder's stint in Norfolk was productive, with the phenom rotating between second base, shortstop, and designated hitter while batting .271 with a .908 OPS. The burgeoning power finally started to manifest, with Holliday picking up ten homers while scoring 75 runs.

Ever since being called back up in late July, however, Holliday's fallen back into old patterns. He started off hot, hitting four homers in his first seven games back in the majors, but is still batting just .197 with a .608 OPS through the 41 games (38 starts) since returning to Camden Yards and picking up only one more home run after the initial power surge. More worrisome for a player who was given an exceptional grade on his hit tool as a prospect is the strikeouts - 46 in 148 plate appearances, all stemming from his bottom-of-the-barrel 35.5% whiff rate. His biggest challenge seems to be hitting major-league-caliber breaking pitches - his .085 batting average against breaking pitches is the lowest figure on the roster.

Holliday was a healthy scratch on Sunday for the first time since being called back up, with the Orioles inserting Livan Soto for their series finale against Keider Montero and the Detroit Tigers, a 4-2 Detroit victory.

But if Baltimore wants to close the gap between themselves and the New York Yankees in the AL East standings, they need more from Holliday.

Owing to injuries and trades, there's not a lot of other infield options left for Baltimore for the keystone. Ramón Urias (ankle), Jordan Westburg (hand), and Jorge Mateo (elbow) are on the injured list. Trades have taken Connor Norby (Miami Marlins) and Joey Ortiz (Milwaukee Brewers) off the roster.

Holliday's the best option left on the roster at second base, and he needs to produce like the former number-one overall prospect that he is if the Orioles have any hope of catching the New York Yankees in the American League East.