Orioles' Jackson Holliday is hitting the ball harder than all but one player since call up

It's a small sample size, but rookie second baseman Jackson Holliday has been on fire since being recalled to the Baltimore Orioles.

The former No. 1 overall pick was promoted on July 31 and there's only one player in MLB who's been hitting the ball harder than Holliday since then.

Since a slow April, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has arguably been the best hitter in the league. Judge is one of the AL MVP front-runners along with teammate Juan Soto and Holliday's double play partner — shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Trade rumors surrounded Detroit Tigers AL Cy Young candidate Tarik Skubal — often connecting him to the Orioles — and Holliday was frequently floated as a possible piece going to the Motor City in a potential trade.

Baltimore instead landed one-time All-Star starting pitcher Trevor Rogers and starting pitcher Zach Eflin in separate deals, and with second baseman Connor Norby shipping out of town, the starting job was cleared for Holliday.

The son of former All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday lit up minor league pitching since being drafted in 2022 and recorded 10 home runs, 38 RBI and eight stolen bases with a .271/.431/.477 slash line over 266 at-bats in 73 games with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in 2024. Those numbers didn't carry over in Jackson's first taste of the big leagues, however, as he went just 2-for-34 with five runs scored, one RBI, two walks and 18 strikeouts across his first 10 games with Baltimore.

The 20-year-old hit a grand slam in his first game back with the Orioles last Tuesday and hasn't cooled off yet.