Jackson Holliday began the 2024 MLB season on a short list of candidates for the American League Rookie of the Year award. Considering Holliday, 20, had played all of 18 games above the Double-A level in his life, perhaps the bar was set ambitiously high.
Nonetheless, when Holliday was promoted to the majors for the first time on April 10, expectations were sky-high. And when he batted 2 for 34 in 10 games, with no extra-base hits and 18 strikeouts, hearts sank.
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“Is Jackson Holliday a bust?” asked at least one YouTuber, one TikToker, and more Twitter/X users than their authors would care to admit offline.
Flash forward to today. After being promoted to the majors for the second time on July 31, Holliday hit his first major league home run — a grand slam — in his third at-bat of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
That kicked off a seven-game stretch in which Holliday is hitting .375 with four home runs and 10 RBIs entering Thursday. If it isn’t enough to erase memories of his April struggles, it’s enough to put him in the conversation of the hottest-hitting rookies in MLB not just in 2024 — but ever.
Jackson Holliday has homered in 3 straight games
the only player as young as him (or younger) with a LONGER HR streak: 2018 Ronald Acuña Jr., 5 straight https://t.co/UuCR0sieW6
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 8, 2024
Holliday’s home run against the Blue Jays on Wednesday gave him one home run in three consecutive games, something no 20-year-old has done in American League history (since 1901). Only one player in either league has done so at such a young age: Ronald Acuña Jr., who homered in five consecutive games for the Atlanta Braves in 2018.
“He’s got a nice swing and there’s a lot of things that work in that swing and he’s got a lot of confidence and he really can get on a fastball,” manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Wednesday in Toronto. “I just think we’re seeing the confidence growing honestly up here at this level. Little bit of success and all of a sudden you start feeling good in the batter’s box and he’s getting some huge hits.”
Holliday’s 424-foot home run in the seventh inning Wednesday gave Baltimore the lead for good in its 7-3 win. Combined with the Yankees’ loss to the Angels, the win put Baltimore in a tie for the AL East lead — and the league’s No. 1 seed — at 68-47.
As he explained to Steve Melewski of MASN, Holliday’s sights are not set on a home-run record.
“I mean, I love hitting home runs, so that’s pretty great,” he said. “But it’s not what I am trying to do. Trying to just hit line drives. And I keep catching the ball at good angles. And it’s been fun to hit the ball all over the field and that is what I am trying to do. Glad that they are going over the fence right now.”
