Baltimore Orioles Former Top Prospect Sets Lofty Goal For Himself This Season

The Baltimore Orioles have high hopes for this season.

They have come up short in the playoffs in back-to-back years, and they are hoping their young talent can propel them further in 2025.

One player specifically has set a lofty goal for himself this season.

Jackson Holliday was the first overall pick in 2022. After tearing it up in the minor leagues for a year-and-a-half, the Orioles had no choice but to call him up to the big leagues last season.

However, that came with some struggles.

The 21-year-old slashed .189/.255/.311 with five home runs, 23 RBI and 28 runs scored in 60 games played. The former top prospect seemed overpowered at the plate at times. His whiff rate was a high 34.1%, while his strikeout rate was 33.2%.

Defensively, Holliday made just three total errors in 59 games played in the field. 56 of those games, and all three errors came with him at second base. He is putting the work in during spring training to improve at the position, though.

Those are struggles a lot of rookies endure, so there is not much need for panic.

Looking forward to his sophomore campaign, Holliday has a certain goal in mind.

Jackson Holliday would like to steal 20+ bases for #Orioles in 2025.

He knows he may have to dial back the aggressiveness a bit in regular season, though, and could do that in final few games of spring to be prepared to pick spots.

"I'm going to go until they tell me not to." https://t.co/O8zYVmCIOp
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) March 2, 2025

During his rookie year, Holliday stole was 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts, so he has the ability to run. In his minor league career, he has 36 steals in 47 attempts. 24 of those came during the 2023 season.

This goal lines up perfectly for what Baltimore wants to do this year.

They have been a team that hits for a lot of power in the past. But manager Brandon Hyde would like the team to play more small ball in 2025 as they try to win a playoff game for the first time since 2014.

Holliday has the speed to reach this goal.

According to Baseball Savant, he had a top sprint speed of 29.4 feet per second last year which put him in the 95th percentile of that category.

In spring training, Holliday has two stolen bases in five games played, and he is hitting the ball much better now that he has some Major League at-bats under his belt. Getting on base more will be key for him to reach 20 stolen bases, and he is doing that in his first few spring games.

It is not going to be easy, and he does not yet have the second base starting job locked up.

If he is the everyday player for Baltimore, though, there is a great chance he can steal 20 bases.

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