Orioles’ Jackson Holliday demoted to Triple-A amid terrible start

Jackson Holliday’s first taste of the big leagues was brief.

The acclaimed Orioles youngster — rated as the No. 1 prospect in baseball’s MLB pipeline — was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk amid a terrible start with the team.

The Orioles called Holliday up to the major league roster on April 10, but he endured a nightmare few weeks.

He was slashing .059/.111/.059 with a paltry .170 OPS and -47 OPS+.

He had just two hits in 34 at-bats, striking out 18 times with no home runs and just one RBI.

Holliday recorded a -0.5 BWAR in the 15 games he played.

“Whenever you have a little bit of difficulty, you just start looking,” Holliday told The Athletic this week.

“And start creating small habits. I’m just making some adjustments, because you have to. It’s a lot tougher than Triple-A. I don’t think there are many people in the big leagues who haven’t struggled. It turns out it’s just at the beginning.

Ryan McKenna was recalled from Triple-A as the Orioles’ corresponding decision.

The Orioles selected Holliday with the first pick in the 2022 draft, and he quickly became one of the most heralded prospects in recent years.

He went through the minors last year and quickly moved from Single-A to Triple-A, where he slashed .267/.396/.400 with a .796 OPS.

Holliday started this season in Triple-A before his call-up and slashed .333/.482/.595 with a 1.077 OPS in 10 games.

“It’s a lot, but it’s been fun. It’s quite an experience,” Holliday said after recording his first hit in a 6-4 win over the Twins on April 14. “I don’t think I’ll ever take the experience I’m having for granted. If you go 0 for three or four games, that’s going to happen in baseball. I would prefer it not to be early in my career, but it will happen. I’m happy to learn from it, I hope.

Holliday’s father includes longtime MLB star Matt.

Holliday was drafted straight out of high school after playing at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma.