"My hope is that this was a productive experience for him" - Orioles GM Mike Elias remains positive over Jackson Holliday's MLB stint despite demotion
Baltimore Orioles top prospect Jackson Holliday has been demoted to Triple-A after a disappointing first stint in the MLB. The former number-one overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday has made a name for himself for tearing up the minor leagues before finally earning a promotion to the majors.
"Jackson Holliday has been demoted back to AAA. Had only 2 hits over 34 ABs. Here are all his at bats. Didn’t really show much promise this time around." - @TheSkippersView
Although the excitement for Jackson Holliday's MLB debut was palpable across the league, things did not exactly go according to plan. The infielder, who switched to second base upon his major league promotion, struggled mightily at the plate during his first MLB stint.
Prior to his demotion to Triple-A, Holliday made 36 plate appearances for the Baltimore Orioles. In those appearances, the ultra-talented 20-year-old struggled to produce much of anything for his club. During his 10 games, Holliday posted a dismal .059 batting average with only a pair of hits while recording a whopping 18 strikeouts.
Demotion aside, Baltimore Orioles General Manager Mike Elias remains optimistic about Holliday's brief window with the big club. "My hope is that this was a productive experience for him," Elias said of the infielder in a recent episode of High Heat. "This might be the first time in his baseball life that he went through a cold stretch like this," he explained to host Chris Russo.
"The @Orioles, boss, Mike Elias is joining @MadDogUnleashed next on #HighHeat. @Jody_Jackson coming up with me on the #Dbacks. Join us now on @MLBNetwork" - @alannarizzo
Mike Elias believes that Jackson Holliday will still play a key role with the Orioles this season
Although it appears that Holliday was not ready for a full-time role with the Baltimore Orioles at this point of the season, Mike Elias believes that he could still play an important part this year. "We also think that he is going to be an enormous part of the 2024 Orioles," Elias said during the interview on High Heat.
It is clear that Holliday needs to continue his work in the minors, however, if he can convert his Triple-A success to the majors, the Orioles will have another superstar on their hands. Given the team's track record of developing stars from within such as Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, it might not be long before Holliday is back in the MLB.