Young Orioles Star Quietly Putting Together Strong Season

The Baltimore Orioles entered Tuesday on their first three-game win streak of the season.

While 2025 has not been kind to the Orioles' young stars -- the recoils of big free agency losses, Brandon Hyde being fired before Memorial Day and now Adley Rutschman having to miss time -- this short string of success felt good.

The pitching staff had question marks all over it the second Corbin Burnes jumped ship to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But several key batters have also underperformed, most notably Gunnar Henderson, who is slashing .266/.328/.457.

It's not terrible, but it's not what Baltimore Orioles fans were hoping for out of him.

But in the midst of losing streaks, blown leads and internal executive drama, one young player is actually exceeding expectations for many.

Jackson Holliday is slashing .267/.319/.424 with six home runs.

When he got the starting second baseman job for 2025, there was a wide variety of ways his season could go.

It came as a shock to many when Holiday, still just 21 years old, did not make the Opening Day roster in 2024 after reports came out that the organization wanted him to continue to work on lowering his strikeout rate.

When he eventually got called up, it was an ugly sight, as he slashed .059/.111/.059 with 18 strikeouts in 34 at-bats before being sent back down to Triple-A Norfolk.

He would be called back up at the very end of July.

His defensive ability at second base, which was always a point of critique for Holliday, was still not quite there even when he was recalled.

He was brought up as a shortstop, but was even worse defensively there and had to navigate his time between the Major and minor leagues learning a whole new position.

But the improvements in Holiday's bat have more than made up for it.

According to Baseball Savant, his K% is in the 43rd percentile, only slightly below the league average.

And with Baltimore's 19-34 record, the organization is willing to let Holliday work on his defensive skills as the team tries to keep its win-streak moving along.

To put it simply, if the Orioles were doing better and competitive for the American League East, Holliday would likely be getting more recognition for the season he's having.

But in the nightmare scenario currently unfolding, his development in the last 365 days definitely provides hope for the future.

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