Jackson Holliday Retreats To Bench Against Southpaw
Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday will take a seat on the bench with the team facing a left-handed pitcher on Thursday against the hosting Washington Nationals. Jorge Mateo will take over at the keystone and will bat ninth against Nationals left-hander McKenzie Gore. Holliday has just two hits in 11 at-bats with two walks and five strikeouts against southpaws so far in 2025. The 21-year-old former top prospect has picked things up at the plate lately with four hits in 13 at-bats over the last seven days to raise his season average to .234 (15-for-64). It hasn't been the best start for the former first overall pick, but Holliday isn't going anywhere as Baltimore's starting second baseman. Mateo is a low-upside DFS play in the nine-hole, especially since he's gone just 1-for-17 with three steals as a bench player for the O's so far in 2025.
Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday broke out of his slump with a grand slam in Wednesday's 9-1 victory over the Guardians. He had gone hitless in his previous five games entering the day, and the grand slam was only his third extra-base hit of 2025. He's now slashing .216/.231/.392 with two home runs, eight RBI, five runs, and a stolen base in 14 games this season. The top prospect is still clearly a work in progress, but he still has some of the highest upside in the game at only 21 years old. It's worth holding onto him in fantasy to wait for him to figure things out.
Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday is getting a breather against a left-handed pitcher on Tuesday versus the visiting Cleveland Guardians at Camden Yards. Jorge Mateo will draw into the starting lineup at the keystone and will bat ninth against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen. The Orioles have protected Holliday from left-handed pitching this year as he continues to develop at the major-league level. The 21-year-old former top prospect has gotten off to a slow start offensively in his first full season in the big leagues, going 10-for-47 (.213) with a homer, double, triple, four RBI, one steal, four runs scored, one walk and 12 strikeouts in 13 games played. He will continue to play regularly at second in Baltimore, but the O's could continue to shield him from lefty starters. Mateo offers speed but will have little DFS upside in the nine-hole. He's still searching for his first hit this year.
Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday continued his hot stretch at the plate during Saturday's game against the Kansas City Royals. It was a good day for Holliday who went 3-for-4 at the plate with two singles, a triple, and two RBI in the win. The 21-year-old finally appears to be putting it all together at the big league level. So far, he's 10-for-30 with one homer, four RBI, and one steal to begin the season. He's worth rostering in most standard 12-team formats right now.
Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday will get the starting nod at shortstop and bat ninth on Opening Day. He will face Toronto right-hander Jose Berrios. Holliday was considered the best prospect in baseball entering the 2024 campaign. After being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday made his MLB debut last summer. However, across 60 games, the 21-year-old struggled as he posted a .189/.255/.311 slash line with five home runs and four stolen bases. He generated a modest .258 xwOBA but flashed elite speed as he placed in the 95th percentile in sprint speed. At the Triple-A level, Holliday posted a strong .271/.431/.477 slash line with 25 doubles and 10 home runs across 73 games. With Gunnar Henderson (side) on the injured list, fantasy managers should expect Holliday to be deployed as the everyday shortstop during the early part of the campaign. Given his struggles last season, he is best left on your bench in this contest.
Jackson Holliday Showing Consistency In Grapefruit League
Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday has posted a strong .314/.385/.486 line through 12 contests in the Grapefruit League. His 11 total hits are the fourth-most by an Oriole in camp. This is a great sign for Holliday, as the former top prospect struggled to adjust to the major leagues last season. The 21-year-old posted an underwhelming .189/.235/.311 line across his first 60 MLB contests. During this stretch, Holliday hit just four doubles with five home runs. He generated a strong 45.1 percent hard-hit rate but held a high 33.2 percent strikeout rate. Through 91 contests at the Triple-A level, the former No. 1 overall pick posted a .270/.423/.460 slash line with 29 doubles and 12 long balls. Fantasy managers should expect Holliday to break camp as the starting second baseman in Baltimore.
With Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (intercostal) up in the air to be ready for Opening Day in late March, manager Brandon Hyde said that second baseman Jackson Holliday will be getting some repetitions at shortstop in camp. Jordan Westburg could also get some looks at the 6 as the O's start to think about contingency plans in case Henderson opens the year on the injured list. The 21-year-old Holliday came up through the minors as a shortstop as Baltimore's top prospect before making his major-league debut at the keystone last year with Henderson entrenched at shortstop. Westburg also has experience at the position, although the Orioles are probably more inclined to keep him at the hot corner. If Henderson opens the year on the IL, the most likely scenario will be Holliday at short and veteran Ramon Urias being inserted into the lineup at second base.
Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday plans to be busy on the basepaths this upcoming season. The young slugger said he'd like to steal 20 bases or more during the 2025 season. He knows he'll need to dial back his aggressiveness, but plans to keep stealing until the team tells him otherwise. Holliday stole four bases during his 60 games with the O's last season. However, Holliday stole 24 bases during his 2023 season in the minor leagues. He'll need to pick his spots right, but Holliday could very well could a legitimate threat on the basepath this upcoming season.
Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday is looking to bounce back after struggling in his first year in the big leagues in 2024, and he's specifically focused on stealing more bases in 2025. Over 60 games in Baltimore, he hit just .189 with five homers, four doubles, 23 RBI and a .565 OPS while striking out 69 times in 208 plate appearances. "I'm definitely as strong as I've ever been," Holliday said. "Been doing running stuff ... trying to make that a priority, to be able to steal bases and really impact the game in multiple different ways." The 21-year-old will need to improve at the plate and get on base more often to utilize his 95th percentile sprint speed. He'll also need to perform well enough to hold off Jorge Mateo, Ramon Urias and Jordan Westburg for playing time at the keystone. Holliday's future is bright, but he ranks as RotoBaller's No. 22 fantasy second baseman entering his sophomore year.
Baltimore Orioles rookie infielder Jackson Holliday is not in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the wild-card series on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards with a lefty on the mound. Jordan Westburg is starting at the keystone and is hitting second, while Ramon Urias will play third base and hit seventh against Royals left-hander Cole Ragans. While Holliday has a bright future, the O's are going to shield him from facing southpaws in the postseason, and for good reason. The 20-year-old former first overall pick in 2022 had his moments in his rookie season in 2024, but he finished by hitting just .189/.255/.311 with a .565 OPS, five home runs, 23 RBI, four steals and 69 strikeouts in 208 plate appearances and 60 games. He went 4-for-40 (.100) with one of his five home runs and 16 strikeouts in 46 plate appearances against lefties. Holliday finished off September with a .218 average, no homers, three RBI and 17 K's in 21 games.
Jackson Holliday
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