Orioles No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday was busy in the minors this summer as he began to work toward his ultimate goal — making it to the major leagues.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound infielder hit .238/.439/.333 with 10 hits, four doubles, six RBIs and 15 walks in 12 games with Low-A Delmarva after his late August promotion from the Florida Complex League.
Holliday enjoyed playing for the Shorebirds and was impressed with the talent around him.
“It’s very, very exciting,” Holliday said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 9, prior to the end of Delmarva’s season. “Every day before we play, we watch the highlights of the big league game and it’s very exciting to be in an organization that is definitely heading in the right direction.
“All the way from Delmarva to the major leagues, we’re all playing well and there’s a bunch of talent in the organization and the coaches are great and definitely supportive and kind of fit right into the mold of my game. I’m very excited to be here and looking forward to many more years.”
The Stillwater, Okla., native played well in the FCL before getting promoted to the Shorebirds in late August. Holliday batted .409/.576/.591 in Florida, with nine hits, one home run and 10 walks in eight games.
Holliday, 18, has shown incredible plate discipline and patience at the plate at a young age, but his power numbers are not where he wants them to be.
“I want to get stronger and faster and get better at defense and being able to drive the ball all over the park,” Holliday said. “I keep hitting the wall, so trying to get stronger this offseason and being able to hit for a little bit more power coming up.”
Holliday realizes he still has some maturing to do, but he is not letting the pressure of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft distract him from getting better in the offseason.
Holliday wasn’t always the No. 1 draft prospect, though. Holliday was ranked No. 51 overall by Prospects Live in January 2021, more than a year before the draft. Hard work in the offseason and an impressive high school season moved Holliday to the top in 2022.
“Me and my dad wanted to grow steadily, so, not trying to make drastic jumps or anything like that,” Holliday said. “Just growing myself as a person and being more mature and trying to get stronger each and every day to hopefully put me in this position going into the high school season.”
Holliday continues to attribute much of his success to his dad, seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday.
“I’m very grateful to have him and learn how he handled failure,” Holliday said. “There’s a whole lot of failure in baseball and to see a really great example on how to do that has been very helpful for me.”
Holliday is looking forward to the offseason and preparing for spring training given the recent conclusion of Delmarva’s season.
“It’s exciting, especially coming off this season and being able to go home with everything that I’ve learned here and have a little break just to focus on getting stronger and develop my game even more going into spring training. It’s very exciting for me,” Holliday said.
Holliday feels confident and comfortable moving forward and is relying on his proven talent and work ethic to join the Orioles in the near future.
“It will all pan out eventually,” he said.
For more from Holliday, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joey Gardner