A few weeks ago, I watched a video on YouTube. It’s about Jackson Holliday’s journey to the big leagues. He made his MLB debut on April 10, 2024. On that day, he was only 20 years old. However, he didn’t collect a hit in the first 3 games. In the first season of his career, he slashed .189/.255/.311 with 5 home runs and 23 RBI in 60 games.
Well, the numbers don’t look impressive as a rookie. Nonetheless, the Orioles fans shouldn’t be too pessimistic.
Firstly, let’s take a look at some MVP award winners’ first season in the majors. Mike Trout made his MLB debut in 2011. Trout was 19 years old and in his first season, Trout hit .220/.281/.390 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI in 40 games. His OPS was .671 in 2011. Moreover, Aaron Judge made his MLB debut in 2016. Back then, he was 24 years old. Judge played 27 games in 2016, hitting .179/.263/.345 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI. His OPS was only .608. Furthermore, Josh Donaldson won the 2015 AL MVP award. Donaldson made his MLB debut in 2010. Back then, he was 24 years old and slashed .156/.206/.281 with 1 home runs and 4 RBI in 14 games. He didn’t play in the big leagues in 2011. In 2012, Donaldson played 75 games, hitting .241/.289/.398 with 9 home runs and 33 RBI. Hence, a rough start in the majors doesn’t guarantee the future of his career.
In addition, let’s take a look at Holliday’s performance each month in 2024. He only had 2 hits in 10 games in April and was optioned to the minors in late April. He was called up again at the end of July. In August, he smashed 4 home runs and collected 15 RBI in 28 games. His OPS was .685 in August. In September, Holliday had 12 hits in 21 games. His OBP increased to .302, but his OPS dropped to .557.
Finally, let’s look at his plate discipline. His chase rate was 27.2% in April. In September, his chase rate dropped to 20.9%. Moreover, his whiff rate was over 49% in April. However, Holliday’s whiff rate dropped to 27.1% in September. Furthermore, the good news is that his hard-hit rate was over 40% in the last 2 months in 2024.
Looking back at Holliday’s first season in the majors, it wasn’t a good start. Well, it was actually a tough one. However, several star players or MVP award winners didn’t hit well at the beginning of their careers. Jackson Holliday didn’t perform well in the first 60 games in the majors. Nevertheless, there are some good signs. His chase rate went down last September. Meanwhile, his hard-hit rate was over 40% in August and in September. His whiff rate in September wasn’t as high as in April. In 2025, Holliday is only 21 years old. Entering his second season in the majors, it will be worthwhile to see if he can stay disciplined at the plate and he might gradually show his potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment