Jackson Holliday 2024

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Just Regular said:

Will he get 1 PA in the ALWC series?

To put flesh on the bones, say against Lucas Erceg on for a Save at James McCann's spot in the lineup.

He is behind all of O'Hearn, Mountcastle and Kjerstad probably on the depth chart, but if you get Ragans out by the 5th or 6th they could all be used before the endgame.

It’s possible but I think he is also your Mateo pinch runner guy. In other words, I think they will save him until the end of the game just in case they need his speed.

[Tony-OH]

20 hours ago, banks703 said:

LOL You and this JH SS shtick. I’ll bite.

On which of those plays did he ‘look good’? The infield bobble that should have been an error but they awarded Castillo a hit? Was it Royce Lewis’s pop out to short or his liner to SS where JH looked good? Maybe the pop out to short by Michael Helman? The balls that get right to a major leaguer should be fielded cleanly 100% of the time. On none of those plays did he ‘look good’ 

He made exactly one clean putout on a ground ball but even that was an adventure for him. Thank goodness the one clean putout was in a 6-0 game and bad attitude Austin Martin hitting.

The kid had a great day at the plate yesterday but he looked terrible in the field.

 

Holliday is to SG what Mayo is to Roy.

His 82.4 MPH Max throw is 4.5 MPH off the Average throw for a SS (86.9). His 77.6 MPH average throw speed, mostly from 2B, is still 1.6 MPH for the average throw from 2B. We don't need to guess about Holliday's arm. He's got a well below average arm.

Saying all that, it was nice to see him end the year with a nice game. His .189/.255/.311/.565 slash line is bad no matter how you break it up, but hopefully dropping the leg kick will be something he will continue to work on this offseason and he'll show back up as the player we all think he will be eventually. 

[eddie83]

20 hours ago, Master Guns said:

 

Very encouraged by this. Always a chance he comes up big in playoffs. 

[Moose Milligan]

SG's crusade to speak Holliday starting at SS into existence is one of my favorite OH subplots.  

I don't know how much playing time he'll get in the playoffs, nor do I really care.  While I really like Holliday and think there's a lot of upside there, it won't bother me a bit if he doesn't make an appearance in the playoffs...at least in the first round.

Really hope that he can bust out in 2025, but for now I'm happy we're in the playoffs and can momentarily put aside debating about Jackson Holliday.

[banks703]

34 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Holliday is to SG what Mayo is to Roy.

His 82.4 MPH Max throw is 4.5 MPH off the Average throw for a SS (86.9). His 77.6 MPH average throw speed, mostly from 2B, is still 1.6 MPH for the average throw from 2B. We don't need to guess about Holliday's arm. He's got a well below average arm.

Saying all that, it was nice to see him end the year with a nice game. His .189/.255/.311/.565 slash line is bad no matter how you break it up, but hopefully dropping the leg kick will be something he will continue to work on this offseason and he'll show back up as the player we all think he will be eventually. 

I still think his best position may be in the outfield. On paper he has the physical tools that suggest that he can run em down and while EBJ offers a lot in range and speed on the bases, I'd keep my eye on JH getting reps in CF come Spring Training.

I think the kid may have a moment here in this post-season. He's due for a big hit. As a fan, I'm happy that he ended the regular season strong. As a more critical viewer, I'm encouraged that he was able to make a MAJOR mechanical adjustment in-season but I question why it took them so long (was him or the coaching?) to try something else. I have zero doubt that he's going to figure it out at the plate but the impact of getting back Westy and Ramon for the last week of the season cannot be understated. JH, like ROH, for the better part of the last six weeks had been virtually non-producers at the plate. Mateoian bad. The difference in the lineup is night and day. Hopefully the kid works his butt off in the off-season and is ready to contribute out of the gate next year. Nothing suggests that he isn't a hard worker but man, the last month and a half of the season with him playing nearly every inning has been brutal. 

[Sports Guy]

36 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

SG's crusade to speak Holliday starting at SS into existence is one of my favorite OH subplots.  

I don't know how much playing time he'll get in the playoffs, nor do I really care.  While I really like Holliday and think there's a lot of upside there, it won't bother me a bit if he doesn't make an appearance in the playoffs...at least in the first round.

Really hope that he can bust out in 2025, but for now I'm happy we're in the playoffs and can momentarily put aside debating about Jackson Holliday.

I think it’s funny that I made a comment that he looked good over there and people are running with it as if I’m saying he should start at SS next year…I have already said Gunnar should be the SS in 2025.

[LookitsPuck]

Despite all the handwringing about Jackson's defense, he still finishes the season with a +1 OAA and only a -0.1 dWAR. Jackson made some boneheaded misses this year, but I do think he got better as the year went along.

I'm not worried about his arm strength. I think there's something to be said about a player coming back from arm inflammation in their throwing arm in the middle of the season and playing in a position that doesn't require the same type of strength/velocity of, say, a SS or 3B. 

His history and scouts prior indicate that his arm will be just fine at 2B. And I do think an offseason of rest, rehab, and some strength training around the arm and mechanics will go a long way with him. 

[Frobby]

34 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

Despite all the handwringing about Jackson's defense, he still finishes the season with a +1 OAA and only a -0.1 dWAR. Jackson made some boneheaded misses this year, but I do think he got better as the year went along.

I'm not worried about his arm strength. I think there's something to be said about a player coming back from arm inflammation in their throwing arm in the middle of the season and playing in a position that doesn't require the same type of strength/velocity of, say, a SS or 3B. 

His history and scouts prior indicate that his arm will be just fine at 2B. And I do think an offseason of rest, rehab, and some strength training around the arm and mechanics will go a long way with him. 

Holliday will be absolutely fine at 2B.   My biggest concerns this year relate to lack of awareness of where to be, as I saw numerous times where he was slow getting to 2B on DP’s or cutoff throws, and sometimes tentative on soft fly balls into the outfield.   He did not completely eliminate these mistakes by the end of the season, but they were less and less frequent.   He’s becoming more confident and sure of himself out there, though he’s not all the way there yet.  His throws got better as the season progressed too.  He’s a work in progress, but he’ll get there.