Best shape of his life? Jackson Holliday eliminated his only excuse in first week of spring training

The sky was the limit when Jackson Holliday, MLB's top prospect, was promoted to the Baltimore Orioles for the first time in mid-April of the 2024 campaign. Sure, he was quite young, but Holliday had dominated the minor leagues and looked like Baltimore's next young star following in the footsteps of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson.

Unfortunately, Holliday's first taste of MLB pitching could not have gone much worse. Not only did the young infielder have two hits in 34 at-bats (.059 BA), but he struck out 18 times in 36 plate appearances. Striking out half the time a player steps up to the plate is a brutal look, giving insight on just how mightily Holliday struggled.

Holliday would get another chance to perform at the MLB level, playing mostly regularly in August and September for Baltimore, but as his total .189/.255/.311 slash line would suggest, he looked mostly overmatched in his first 208 trips to the plate against big league pitching. He did look a lot better in August and September than he did in April, but he still had a .650 OPS in that span — well below league-average.

For Holliday to earn regular playing time at the MLB level on an Orioles team that expects to compete in the 2025 campaign, he's going to have to look much better. His first appearance at spring training seemingly took away any sort of excuse Holliday had to not perform. He looked a whole lot stronger than he did last season.

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Jackson Holliday has no excuse but to take massive leap in first full MLB season

According to Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner ($), Holliday noticed he was growing tired and his strength was waning ever so slightly as the season progressed. It's hard to blame Holliday, a 20-year-old at the time, for struggling physically at the end of such a grueling season, but now, he's in the necessary shape to adapt.

Holliday might only be 21 years old now, but he's got 60 games of MLB experience under his belt and is now in the best shape of his life. He should be more than ready to push through the grueling 162-game schedule plus whatever postseason games are on Baltimore's schedule.

As of now, Holliday is the clear frontrunner to begin the 2025 campaign as Baltimore's second baseman. A strong spring training will only prove that the spot is his to lose. Hopefully, with Holliday looking better than ever, the results will translate on the field.