Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday smiles after hitting a home run, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Some baseball writers predicted Jackson Holliday would have a breakout season in 2026. After making his debut as a 20-year-old in 2024, the former No. 1 overall pick was poised to take the next step in what was supposed to be his second full season with the Baltimore Orioles.
But baseball can be a fickle and, at times, unforgiving game. Before spring training could even formally get underway, Holliday suffered a broken hamate bone in his right hand during a live batting practice on Feb. 6. He had surgery the following week, which delayed his start to the season until May 19.
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As is often the case with such injuries, his bat speed took a while to catch up when he did return to the field. He went 4-for-19 over his first eight games, but managed to finish May with a .242 average, two home runs, six RBIs and three stolen bases.
The struggles persisted into June. Though his powers numbers in terms of home runs (3) and RBIs (8) were up, he struck out 23 times and hit just .179. Some writers posed the question about whether Holliday would be better served by a demotion to Triple-A while he regained his timing and confidence.
He responded with July numbers that were some of the best in his career. He hit .368 with 21 hits and cut his strikeout total to 11.
“Feeling good, feeling confident,” Holliday told reporters July 29 after a series win over the Detroit Tigers in which he went 8-for-11 (.727) with one double, three RBIs and three runs scored. “Feeling like I’m in a good spot to fire at pretty much any point, which is always a good sign for me.”
His young career has sort of been marked by two steps forward, one step backwards. And this season has been no different. August has looked more like June so far, with Holliday 11-for-60 (.183) at the plate with one home run, five RBIs, just five walks and 17 strikeouts.
But there’s still more than a month left in the season, and the Orioles (61-65) are in the mix for playoff spot as they enter Wednesday just one game out of the final wild-card spot. Holliday’s hot July is a big reason for that, as the Orioles went 15-8 in July. Holliday finding his groove again could be pivotal for Baltimore securing their first playoff berth since 2024.
Jackson’s mother, Leslee, has said she believes more lessons are caught than taught. If that’s true, there aren’t too many players who had the exposure to highs and lows of an MLB career quite like Jackson did growing up. His father is Matt Holliday, who played in the big leagues for 15 years and made seven All-Star teams. Jackson was often in and around the clubhouse, even as a young kid, and learned plenty of lessons from his dad along the way.
One of those was to keep everything in perspective, especially when you have a strong foundation of faith in Jesus.
“I think growing up in baseball is very helpful,” he said in a recent interview with reporter Abby Jones. “My faith is way more important as far as keeping me grounded and understanding that it’s just a game that I’m lucky enough to play. And that’s very helpful having more of a Heavenly perspective in this game. That makes (dealing with) failure that much easier, I guess. This game is primarily failure, and learning how to deal with that is very important.”
One of the most highly anticipated prospects in years, Holliday made his MLB debut on April 10, 2024. But his introduction to the big leagues wasn’t so welcoming. He started off 0-for-13 and ultimately went 2-for-34 before being sent back down to Triple-A. He returned to the Orioles lineup on July 31 and hit his first MLB home run — a 439-foot grand slam.
That perspective he learned from his father played a big part in helping him navigate his rookie season.
“The Lord has a plan for me and it might be different than my plan,” he told Sports Spectrum Magazine in 2025. “I’d say that’s the main message of this [past] year. Obviously, if I had to write it up, I would not have gone 2-for-30 or whatever, and got sent back down. But I think, for everything that happened, I’ll be better for it and my faith will be stronger for it. Yeah, just really relying on the Lord, and continuing to trust that He has a plan for me, is probably the main message I learned this year.”
Aside from baseball, he credits his parents for instilling a love for Christ in his heart. He said Jesus is “the center of my life” and has been “ever since I can remember.”
“Growing up in a Christian home, that’s kind of all I’ve known, and I’m so thankful that that’s all I’ve known,” he told Sports Spectrum. “Growing up going to church with my family, obviously my dad and my mom had a significant impact on me. Now that I’m older and just got married, really leaning into my faith a little bit more now as a husband has been awesome. I don’t think I’d be here without my faith.”
The Orioles return to action Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. ET hosting the New York Yankees.
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