The Baltimore Orioles have a lot of highly-ranked prospects, and because of that there is an urgency to see them as soon as humanly possible. That was the case with Jackson Holliday, whose first MLB stint went about as poorly as one would expect. Holliday, who is still just 20 years old, went 2-for-34 and was immediately sent back down to Norfolk.
There, Holliday refined his swing and (eventually) earned another call-up. His second stint in the bigs has gone quite well, as he’s hit five home runs since being recalled.
“I’m not trying to hit homers. I’m just trying to hit the ball hard, on the barrel,” Holliday said. “When that happens, good things, obviously, seem to be good outcomes. Just was trying to hit the ball hard, and wherever it goes, it just happens to be going over the fence at a pretty high rate right now.”
Four of Holliday’s home runs have gone over 400 feet, and his barrel rate since his recall has been impressive to say the least. Nonetheless, not every prospect is Jackson Holliday. The Orioles can ill-afford to make the same mistake twice, or thrice, if they hope to win the old-fashioned way — that is not spending money this coming winter. It’s unclear if the new ownership group is open to such a model of success, especially with a highly-ranked farm system.
Coby Mayo is the latest example of a struggling O’s prospect. Mayo, despite his amazing backstory, was 0-for-14 as of this writing. Not everything can be a quick fix, and perhaps he needs to be sent back to Norfolk (like Holliday) to refine his swing and approach at the plate.
The gap between facing Triple-A starters and big-league pitching has never been wider. Every MLB starting pitcher would be an ace in Norfolk. That’s the point of a farm system. However, prospects can also have fragile egos, and it’s why teams are notoriously careful with their top-tier prospects who frankly aren’t used to struggling at any level.
As Orioles hitting coach Ryan Fuller said on Sunday, “growth comes through experience.” Holliday was lucky enough to receive a negative experience, but have the mindset to get through his setback. Again, not every prospect is gifted enough to make such adjustments on the fly.
Hopefully, this is just a blip on the radar for Mayo, a player who figures into the Orioles future nearly as much as Holliday does.
