Why was Jackson Holliday sent down? MLB's top prospect back to Baltimore Orioles' Triple-A
Former Stillwater High School standout Jackson Holliday, the son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, was sent down to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday.
The MLB's No. 1-ranked prospect played in only 10 games for the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles this season before going back to the Tides, where he started the season.
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The 20-year-old former Oklahoma State commit dominated in his 42 at-bats with the Tides, going 14-for-42 with two home runs and nine RBIs, good for a 1.077 OPS. However, the second baseman, who made his Orioles debut April 10, struggled in his time with Baltimore.
The nephew of Cowboys coach Josh Holliday will need to make a few adjustments before rejoining the contending Orioles (16-7), who hold the second-best record in the AL.
Here's why Holliday was sent down:
Why was Jackson Holliday sent down to Triple-A?
Former Stillwater High School star Jackson Holliday was sent back down to Triple-A by the Baltimore Orioles on Friday after struggling through his first 34 MLB at-bats, registering just two hits and striking out 18 times.
The 20-year-old No. 1-ranked prospect was overmatched in his 10 games, ultimately being tasked with making some adjustments at the plate before returning to the big-league club.
Baltimore general manager Mike Elias offered insight on the move to reporters on Friday.
"We moved him very fast in the minors, but it's because he was doing so well," Elias said. "We were trying to get him to a spot where he's challenged. Then he gets all the way through Triple-A, comes into spring training and looks pretty good there. It was hard for me to evaluate exactly where he was based on the evidence I was working with.
"Ultimately, do I like the way this has gone in April totally? No, and I feel responsible for that. But it's possible, just like it was for (Grayson Rodriguez) or (Colton Cowser) or some of these guys that this was just a necessary development episode, to be exposed to this before you were fully ready for it. And now the work that you put in, you kind of know exactly what you need to do when you get back up here, and that's valuable.
"It comes at a cost, to get that negative feedback, but it's valuable. And I guarantee you Jackson is going to channel that very well."
Holliday forced his way on to the big-league roster after a scorching start to the season, batting .333 through 42 at-bats with two home runs and five doubles with the Norfolk Tides.
However, his MLB stint was short-lived, as Holliday finished his 10-game call-up just 2-for-34, with 18 strikeouts.
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Jackson Holliday stats
2024 MLB stats: 2-for-34 batting (.059) with an RBI, 18 strikeouts and two walks.
2024 Triple-A stats: 14-for-42 (.333) with two home runs, nine RBIs, eight strikeouts and 12 walks.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: MLB top prospect Jackson Holliday sent down to Orioles' Triple-A
