Jackson Holliday spring training watch

[OriolesMagic83]

A couple of years ago I saw an internet video of Hays working out.  He was doing sets of 315 power cleans.  Really impressie.

[scarey1999]

Happy to hear the reports of the muscle gains.  This certainly has to add to his in present game power.  People seem to be worried about that and if he’s ready now for ML at bats.  I think those concerns are ill fated.

Also thrilled with what Hyde said about Mayo and his future at 3B.  I’m not sure why so many were either down on his defense there and/or concluded he was 100% moving to another position this season.  Yes I realize they previously said he’d be getting some work in RF already too.  That’s great IMO and should absolutely be the plan B if he has to move off 3B. 

[sevastras]

I have no idea who the kid is that made the video and doesn’t really give any more info than what we already have but it is a very recent video(just a couple of days before he left for spring training) and Jackson looks very fit. 

 

[Moose Milligan]

Men commenting on other men’s bodies on sports message boards will never stop being unintentionally hilarious. 

[emmett16]

Jackson visibly put on a good bit of muscle.  

[DirtyBird]

16 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Men commenting on other men’s bodies on sports message boards will never stop being unintentionally hilarious. 

You aren’t comfortable with yourself to appreciate another man’s physique.

[yark14]

I am convinced that the same physicists that design particle accelerators and astroid rovers engineered his swing.

[Hazmat]

38 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

You aren’t comfortable with yourself to appreciate another man’s physique.

Jackson’s glutes appear to be in mid-season form.

[Brooks The Great]

10 hours ago, sevastras said:

Gunnar has MVP caliber talent. I’m sure he won’t be looked over. 

I think Gunnar's gold glove caliber-defense is what will make it tough for any other Oriole to be more valuable than him over the next few years. And yes, his combination of offense and defense will put him in the AL MVP discussion if he stays healthy.

[sevastras]

6 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Men commenting on other men’s bodies on sports message boards will never stop being unintentionally hilarious. 

I’m pretty sure when my wife tells me to go to the gym, she is hoping for me to be half as fit as he is. 
As far as commenting on another man’s body, I am completely comfortable in my own sexuality and I do indeed wish I had the discipline and work ethic that these athletes do. BUT, it is a lot of work and their full time jobs. I don’t imagine they have wives bitching at them to help clean the kitchen or take out the garbage or why couldn’t you be more like my brother in law? I don’t have a brother in law, but I’m sure you get the point.

Maybe that is the key. If I looked like an athletic kid, my wife would get off my back 

[bobmc]

8 hours ago, Hazmat said:

Jackson’s glutes appear to be in mid-season form.

They definitely appeared to be “activated”!

[Moose Milligan]

10 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

You aren’t comfortable with yourself to appreciate another man’s physique.

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, sevastras said:

I’m pretty sure when my wife tells me to go to the gym, she is hoping for me to be half as fit as he is. 
 

Have you ever tried telling your wife to go to the gym?

I don’t advise it.  

[RZNJ]

Very good article in Baseball America today by J.J. Copper.

 

“No. 1 Prospect Jackson Holliday’s One Flaw”

Basically, it says he’s still a good SS but he tends to play closer to 3B to avoid having to make the backhanded play and throw.  He has soft hands, good range, and great instincts but right now his arm is “short for shortstop”.   Apparently statcast says his average throw from SS was 78 mph and his max throw was 83 while at Norfolk.   About 3 ML SS had a lower average (Nick Ahmed).  38 of 65 qualifying ML SS had a higher average throw than his max throw.

 

“By setting up in the hole, he ensures that he can fluidly field most ground balls with his momentum moving toward first base. Having watched dozens of plays, I realized that Holliday wants to play the ball on or to the left of his left foot if he can. With his range, positioning and anticipation, he generally does. He circles the ball to ensure he doesn’t have to backhand it, and he manages to do everything needed to avoid having to field a ball to the right of his right foot if at all possible.

By way of comparison, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson fields more balls to his backhand in a month than Holliday does in a season. Henderson is much more comfortable relying on his arm to make that play. Holliday relies on his feet and hands.”

 

 

[Frobby]

Eric Longenhagen also had this to say:

“He also isn’t currently a big league-quality shortstop defender and definitely isn’t better than Gunnar Henderson is right now. Holliday played 20 games at second base in 2023 and that might be the path to an earlier debut for him, but he’s talented enough to project as a suitable shortstop within the next couple of years. His ability to make accurate throws from odd platforms is impressive, as are Holliday’s poise and internal clock. He’s most comfortable throwing on the move and often goes out of his way to do so even when it isn’t called for. Holliday lets a lot of choppers take an unnecessarily high hop, with the direction of that hop sometimes surprising him. He needs to do a better job of staying low and attacking this type of ball in play closer to the ground.”

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2024-top-100-prospects/