Going into the 2024 season, Jackson Holliday‘s MLB debut was the most anticipated in all of baseball. But he made just 10 appearances with the Baltimore Orioles before returning to Triple-A.
Now, his season is stalled. The team announced he’s going on the Injured List with right elbow inflammation on June 14.
The injury isn’t considered serious a serious one for baseball’s number one prospect.
General manager Mike Elias said there’s no plan outside of rest for Holliday. He appeared on a June 14 game broadcast of the Orioles matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Hopeful that it’s not a big deal,” Elias said. “His elbow’s barking, basically. We got it looked at, we had some tests done. At this time, there’s nothing that we’re planning on doing other than resting it. Hopefully it’s more of a week, or two, or three kind of thing, but I don’t want to put anything on it right now timeline-wise. Guys play long seasons of baseball, and their arms flare up from time to time and that’s what it looks like with him.”
It’s the latest setback in a rookie season that’s seen multiple. Holliday is slashing .270/.433/.466 with 7 home runs with 28 RBIs with the Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides.
Holliday’s Falling Rookie of the Year Odds
Holliday opened the season as the favorite for American League Rookie of the Year, despite starting the year in Triple-A.
Fans thought Baltimore might leave 2024 with back-to-back award winners, after Gunnar Henderson took home the honors in 2023.
But between his 10-game stint in the majors and the latest injury, his odds have fallen off a cliff for the award.
According to VegasInsider, New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is the consensus favorite across most sports books.
Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox sits behind Gil, and Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller closes out the top-3.
Holliday’s odds are listed at +20000 on FanDuel, +10000 on BetMGM, +8000 on DraftKings, +4500 on Caesar’s.
Holliday Opens Up on Orioles Demotion
In a May 25 interview with Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, he opened up for the first time on his Orioles’ demotion.
“It’s a little bit unfortunate,” Holliday said. “But to be able to come down here and kind of relax and work on things and be able to go back up there and compete at a high level and help impact the team is kind of the way that I’m looking at it. I mean, obviously, this isn’t where I want to be, I want to be in the big leagues. But just trying to be present and be where my feet are.”
He went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games with Baltimore.
“I felt really good in spring training, and going into the beginning of the year, and obviously had a little of a down stretch,” Holliday told Cassell. “So just trying to build back up a little bit and get my confidence up.”
As disappointed as Holliday is with his initial major-league stint, he chose to focus on necessary adjustments while back in Triple-A.
“It’s hard,” Holliday said. “Baseball is really hard, and just being able to adjust fast and find the positives in each and every at-bat.”
Fans and the front office are hopeful that some rest will be the cure-all, be-all for his elbow inflammation. And beyond that, prime him for a strong finish to the 2024 season.
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