Why Jackson Holliday looks poised for breakout 2026 Orioles season

Baltimore Orioles standout Jackson Holliday has his best seasons ahead of him.

Sep 27, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Almost every one of the Baltimore Orioles' key players didn't produce up to their standards during the 2025 MLB season.

When it comes to the position players, this includes Baltimore's most talented young stars, like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday, all of whom have a ton of expectations placed upon them.

Read more: Why Orioles are betting on bounce-back season from Adley Rutschman

Yet, there's a case to be made that none of these have more pressure to perform than Holliday. Not only was he the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, but he's the son of MLB legend Matt Holliday, which means that he must live up to that draft pick and his father's pedigree.

There's a case to be made that Holliday was fast-tracked through the minor leagues, which was harmful to his development. And Baltimore GM Mike Elias suggested this when speaking to the Baltimore Banner's Danielle Allentuck for an August 10 article by saying, “I think some of our call-ups that didn’t go smoothly, Jackson being one of them, we didn’t give them enough time in Triple-A. If we have an opportunity to try to make sure that’s not the case, we’re going to do it.”

Sep 10, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) looks on during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

While it's fair to question whether Holliday's ascent to the big leagues was handled correctly, the bottom line is that he's in Baltimore, and he's not going down anytime soon.

Jackson Holliday Emerges as Key 2026 Breakout Candidate for Orioles

In fact, the Orioles need a better version of Holliday if they're to reach their ceiling in 2026. And MLB.com writer Jake Rill alluded to this in a December 29 article by calling Holliday the Orioles' biggest breakout candidate heading into next year.

"After an underwhelming 60-game debut in 2024, Holliday showed significant strides in ‘25, when he ranked second on the O’s with 149 games played and slashed .242/.314/.375 with 21 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, 55 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He also improved defensively at second base, a position he learned on the fly in Spring Training 2024 after coming up through the Minors as a shortstop. It was a good season, but there should be even better ones to come for Holliday. After all, he’s still only 22 years old," Rill wrote.

NO-HITTER NO MORE

Jackson Holliday homers with two outs in the 9th to end Yoshinobu Yamamoto's no-hitter 🤯 pic.twitter.com/P0UPJYYYjV

— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2025

That last sentence from Rill is the most important, and serves as a reminder why Orioles fans must be patient with Holliday. He's likely still years away from his prime and is clearly supremely talented. And this could be the year where he pieces it all together.

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