Jackson Holliday Fantasy Outlook: Should you consider moving on from Orioles rookie after early season struggles?
Jackson Holliday has been one of the most hyped rookies in recent memory. The son of former All-Star slugger Matt Holliday, Jackson had been tearing the cover of the ball in Triple-A, earning himself a promotion to the majors.
Although he has excelled through all of his stops in the minor leagues, it has not been an easy transition in the MLB.
"20-year-old Jackson Holliday is batting .040 with 14 strikeouts in his first 7 big league games but the Orioles are 6-1 in those games. Life is pretty good in Baltimore right now." - @CodifyBaseball
Since making his MLB debut on Apr. 10, it has been a rough run for Jackson Holliday.
The Baltimore Orioles' top prospect has appeared in only seven games for the major league club, and things have not gone as well as many expected. Although it's a short window, the fact that he struck out 14 times in 26 plate appearances is a bit concerning.
This disappointing performance so far from Holliday this season has been concerning for fantasy baseball managers who drafted him early and stashed him to start the year. At this point, managers are debating whether or not they should drop the infielder.
Fantasy baseball managers should not panic about Jackson Holliday just yet
Although there has been little positive so far from the Baltimore Orioles infielder in terms of fantasy baseball value, there's no need to panic. For those who drafted Holliday and held him all season, it's a waste of a pick to drop him after only seven games in the MLB.
"Jackson Holliday to start his career: 7 GP .040 AVG 1 H 14 SO 25 AB The only position player in the 21st century with 14+ strikeouts and 0 or 1 hits in their first 7 career games" - @statmusemlb
Nevertheless, even though Holliday has not provided anything of value to fantasy baseball managers, they could easily shift him to the bench instead of dropping or trading him. One of the biggest nightmares for fantasy managers is dropping a young player before his breakout.
Based on Holliday's minor-league production and the fact that he plays in a loaded lineup featuring Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, it's impossible to drop him at this point. He will need to heat up, though, before managers should lock him into the lineup every day. Keep him on the bench for now.