Of course, none of us are technicians about hitting...but what can the Orioles do about Holliday?

[Roy Firestone]

As long as they are winning, the Orioles have both the luxury and the commitment to Jackson Holliday. He hit one bell well Tuesday night... but let's face it...even for a 20 year old rookie he's been pretty awful at the plate. Of course, the talent is there and he has to be comfortable at the plate, but how long do the Orioles run him out there? He has now struck out 12 time in 22 plate appearances. If he were some other rookie he'd be sent down...and if he were older and had less potential, he might be released. Of course, I'm not suggesting that. Holliday will eventually come around. But right now he's atrocious and maybe something mechanical or something psychological is in the way. Anybody have any suggestions? Should he sit again? The Orioles didnt miss his bat lately, but he's also a little shaky in the field too, a bobbled double play ball cost the team a run on Tuesday. Jackson needs to break out, and soon, or the unthinkable might be in the works...he might have to be sent down to get his confidence back.

[ScGO's]

He's going to have to study how pitchers are attacking him, make adjustments to his approach, and become a better guess hitter in certain counts and/or sequences you recognize.

[OriolesMagic83]

I assume he's really struggling to hit major league off speed stuff.  I know when Gunnar and Volpe of the Yankees were promoted (early 2023 for Gunnar), both really struggled to hit much other than fastballs.  Fast forward to this year and both those players are mentioned as possible MVPs.  You're not going to see a good major league changeup unless you're in the major leagues or a pitcher is on rehab.  I would keep Jackson up here but have him sit every 3rd game or so.  Offense can sustain it now.  I would give him at least a month.  If he doesn't improve by early May, send him back down.  A week is not really a fair trial.  Even great hitters struggle mightily over a week, putting up a 1 for 25 or something similar. 

[OriolesMagic83]

I think the problems are more psychological than physical.  The guy has all the skills/reflexes/body/power, etc to be successful.  I'm watching a replay of the game now and just saw the play where he bobbled the ball at 2b.  The kind of play he's probably made 1000's of times.  He was looking down like he was embarassed. 

[Say O!]

50 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

He's going to have to study how pitchers are attacking him, make adjustments to his approach, and become a better guess hitter in certain counts and/or sequences you recognize.

This. I think the early book on Holliday is to keep feeding him changeups.  Jackson has taken several borderline ones that umps have called strikes and others he has waved over the top of them.  So I would tell him to sit on changeup and hopefully he can tattoo a couple and begin altering pitcher perceptions.

[Billy F-Face3]

22 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

I think the problems are more psychological than physical.  The guy has all the skills/reflexes/body/power, etc to be successful.  I'm watching a replay of the game now and just saw the play where he bobbled the ball at 2b.  The kind of play he's probably made 1000's of times.  He was looking down like he was embarassed. 

The first couple games did seem like he was nervous and feeling the pressure of all the expectations, but I think right now he's mostly past all the butterflies. Seems like he's just now starting to get eyes for better pitching and the pitchers he has faced have done a good job painting the corners against him. 

I'm encouraged that he's starting to make better contact even if they are fly outs. It says to me that his eyes and coordination are in the process of adjusting to the major league pitching, albeit slowly.

I'll defer to the professional coaches on the Orioles about what could help him adjust faster and get better. I think he needs to study his opponents more and figure out their tendencies.

Also teach him to watch how deep the pitcher puts his throwing hand in his glove and how deep he grips it. That can be a clue/tip on whether a fast ball or breaking ball/offspeed is coming.

[sportsfan8703]

Ugh… I think the problems are that he’s 20 years old and two years removed from high school. Everyone wanted this dude up here. He’s batting 8th/9th. Now we just got to let him get a sample size and some ABs. 

Also, keep in mind that Jackson Holliday is a legit 20. He’s not Albert Pujols 20.  

[Yossarian]

His first strikeout on 4/16  - he got three fastballs that were 95-96 mph perfectly painted on the corners,  both at the top of the zone and the bottom.   They were perfect pitches,  all three of them, and by a mediocre mlb pitcher.   I'm sure he has never faced that type of pitching in his life.  It will take some getting used to.  And it seems all these pitchers are determined to not be the pitcher that Holliday gets hot against - they don't want to be on the highlight reel.   They are making his life difficult.  It's going to take a lot of watching film and working with hitting coaches to figure out how this league pitches him. 

[sevastras]

3 minutes ago, Yossarian said:

His first strikeout on 4/16  - he got three fastballs that were 95-96 mph perfectly painted on the corners,  both at the top of the zone and the bottom.   They were perfect pitches,  all three of them, and by a mediocre mlb pitcher.   I'm sure he has never faced that type of pitching in his life.  It will take some getting used to.  And it seems all these pitchers are determined to not be the pitcher that Holliday gets hot against - they don't want to be on the highlight reel.   They are making his life difficult.  It's going to take a lot of watching film and working with hitting coaches to figure out how this league pitches him. 

They are pitching from a point of confidence against him right now. He is also getting some bad calls on strikes. Probably also the first time in 3 or 4 years he isn’t the best player on the team. I’m not worried at all. It is kind of like last year when some people wanted to send Gunnar down, the kid will figure it out. 
Plus, would you rather have a struggling Holliday or Kemp?

[Roll Tide]

39 minutes ago, sevastras said:

They are pitching from a point of confidence against him right now. He is also getting some bad calls on strikes. Probably also the first time in 3 or 4 years he isn’t the best player on the team. I’m not worried at all. It is kind of like last year when some people wanted to send Gunnar down, the kid will figure it out. 
Plus, would you rather have a struggling Holliday or Kemp?

Time is all I suspect he needs. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes back down if he continues to struggle. We have plenty of better options better than Kemp at AAA that can be brought up.

Edited April 17 by Roll Tide

[Bemorewins]

Leave him alone and let him continue to learn.

I expect stuff like this from a newbie, but from a vet poster who is as knowledgeable as Roy? It is as if, we haven’t watched the last few years of baseball.

This is how it goes for almost ALL top prospects in baseball (including ALL our own) save JW who was decent out of the gate)… They struggle to adjust to the jump in competition.

I don’t know what about that is so difficult to understand? Did people think it would be different because his name is Holliday?

[Moose Milligan]

Be patient. 
 

IIRC last night he hit a line drive at an outfielder. He still doesn’t look great at the plate but he’ll be fine. 
 

We have witnessed Adley, Gunnar and Cowser struggle for a little bit while getting their feet wet at the major league level. You’d think we’d have learned by now. 

[Sports Guy]

Wait

[Jim'sKid26]

Keep putting his name in the lineup. He's gonna hit.

 

[clapdiddy]

I don't watch the games, but I do watch game recaps on YouTube daily and saw the two game on MLB last week.   Seems to me that he's trying to pull everything.   Maybe he needs to start trying to hit the ball the other way for a bit.   I do agree that he WILL hit.