"Opponents realized Jackson Holliday had this issue" - MLB analyst hails Orioles for 'resetting' No. 1 draft pick with AAA demotion

When Jackson Holliday was promoted to the Baltimore Orioles in April, fans had very high hopes for the 2022 first overall pick. However, it soon became apparent that the young hitter had some adjustments to make.

Holliday was optioned back down to Triple-A Norfolk on April 23 after going 2-for-34 with eighteen strikeouts. Holliday, only 20 years old, had considerable trouble hitting high fastballs, a scouting feature that opposing pitchers soon caught on to.

However, on July 31, the O's decided to give Holliday another chance, and promoted him. Since then, Holliday has 17 hits in 71 at-bats, and has connected for 5 home runs and 15 RBIs.

In a recent appearance on Blair and Barker, The Score analyst Travis Sawchik joined the Sportsnet hosts to discuss Holliday's adjustments. According to Sawchik, the Baltimore Orioles rookie is much more apt at hitting fastball, as he told the programme:

"Opponents realized Jackson Holliday had this issue... and after two weeks the O's realized that they have to reset this kid, and I do like how they went about it"

The adjustments were made by Jackson Holliday, and the results did not take long to show. On July 31, in his first game back with the O's Holliday slammed a fastball off of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yariel Rodriguez for his first career home run, which also happened to be a grand slam.

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The son of well-known former St. Louis Cardinals star Matt Holliday, baseball runs in Jackson's blood. Now that the nessecary adjustments were made, it appears as though the O's have yet another youngster who looks like he will be able to produce for several years to come.

Jackson Holliday knows the importance of playing the long game

At just 20 years old, Jackson Holliday is the youngest player on the second youngest team in MLB. After his initial demotion, the Oklahoma-native remained positive. After his grand slam in his return, he told the Baltimore Banner:

“I’m definitely more prepared than I was last time, getting that debut out of the way, and all the stuff that comes with that, it’s definitely a little bit easier coming up here the second time and just being relaxed and comfortable with the environment.”

While Holliday is sure to encounter struggles and setbacks again in his career, learning how to deal with them might be the most important lesson of all.