Jackson Holliday Isn't Guaranteed Baltimore Orioles Starting Second Baseman Job

Barring a late-offseason blockbuster for a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, the Baltimore Orioles are pretty locked into their 26-man roster outside of a few fringe position battles.

Upon signing Tyler O'Neill to take over in right field and Gary Sanchez to backup Adley Rutschman, that addressed the holes present in the lineup.

A preliminary look has Rutschman behind the plate, Ryan Mountcastle at first, Jackson Holliday at second, Gunnar Henderson at shortstop and Jordan Westburg at the hot corner. Colton Cowser will be in left field, Cedric Mullins in center and O'Neill in right. Heston Kjerstad is projected to be the fourth outfielder.

How Coby Mayo, Ryan O'Hearn, Jorge Mateo, Ramon Urias, Dylan Carlson and Daz Cameron factor in will be determined during camp.

But, perhaps writing Holliday's name in pen as the starting second baseman is premature.

Roch Kubatko of MASN says there is going to be a competition during Spring Training, and if the former superstar prospect continues to showcase some of the same struggles that were present last year, then there's a chance he won't be handed the job.

"Holliday will report to spring training as the favorite to win the second base job, but it's a competition. He probably can't afford to have a terrible camp with the team well-stocked in infielders, even after designating Emmanuel Rivera for assignment," he wrote.

That's certainly an interesting nugget at this stage of the winter.

Holliday's struggles were understandable during the last campaign.

At 20 years old, the .189/.255/.311 slash line he finished with across his 60 Major League games and 190 plate appearances was not the hitter he was billed as coming up through the pipeline, but at his age and with just one full professional season of baseball under his belt before making his debut, it's easy to overlook.

However, with an offseason to improve and work on what ailed him - strikeouts being the key point of contention - if he doesn't show growth, that will be a cause for concern.

Would Baltimore actually start him in the minors?

That seems unlikely.

He's proven to be an elite hitter during his time on the farm, so the only thing he needs to do is adjust to big league pitching, something that only comes with reps.

But it's not a given he'll just be handed the starting job if he has a rough camp.

Urias could take over at third base while Westburg assumes the post at second, using Holliday in a bench role and in pinch-hit situations to get him more exposure to MLB pitching.

The Orioles are banking on him reaching his ceiling. Pairing a perennial Silver Slugger and MVP-type candidate with Henderson and Rutschman would give this franchise three of the best talents in the sport.

Whether that comes this year will have to be proven this spring.

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