Holliday break's over: Tides slugger swats a pair

Jackson Holliday's All-Star break was quite a restorative one. MLB's top prospect had just spent three weeks solely as a designated hitter following an injured list stint due to left elbow inflammation and got a chance to return home.

After wrapping up Triple-A Norfolk's series in Memphis, he watched his brother Ethan participate in the High School Home Run Derby before his grandfather picked him up for the drive back to Stillwater, Okla. During the ride, the 20-year-old, who was selected first overall two years earlier, streamed the 2024 Draft on his phone, where he saw his Baltimore Orioles take Vance Honeycutt -- who hit at the Hollidays' home over the offseason -- and high school friend Carson Benge go 19th overall to the Mets.

With four days of game action off, Holliday got to unwind with his family, swim in his pool and take a breath.

Friday marked his first game back at second base since the mid-June injury, and it didn't take long for him to make his impact felt. Holliday connected on his second multihomer game as a professional -- and first at Triple-A -- in Norfolk's 12-11 win over Nashville at Harbor Park.

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Leading off, the Orioles' No. 1 prospect jumped on the first pitch he saw against rehabbing Brewers righty Joe Ross, a fastball down the pipe that he crushed over the right-center-field fence. He saw a high fastball over the plate on the second pitch of his following AB and hit it in nearly the same place.

"The last week or so in Memphis, I felt really good getting back to my approach with driving the ball the other way and being ready for heaters," Holliday said. "So it's kind of carried over. Just looking for a fastball to drive early in the count. Usually with the first pitch of the game, if it's a strike, it's probably a good one to hit. So I was able to jump on it. … That was a good night for me, and I'm happy with the progress that we're making and back to hitting high fastballs."

And it wasn't just that he was hitting the ball far -- the homers traveled a combined 778 feet -- Holliday was also happy with his quality of contact. That's been a point of emphasis for him since he struck out in 18 of his 36 Major League plate appearances in April and whiffed on 27.5 percent of his swings on pitches in the zone.

Both of his home runs and a fifth-inning double play were all hit at 100 mph or harder. In fact, his second-inning homer, at 106.2 mph, is tied for the fourth-hardest-hit ball he's had at any level this season.

"When I went up to the big leagues, I had a bit of swing-and-miss -- especially in-zone, which is kind of unlike anything that I've gone through in Minor Leagues," Holliday said. "Hitting the ball hard no matter where it goes is always positive. The double plays aren't fun, but it was a two-strike count. Hitting a curveball hard, I'm happy with that, especially since no one likes to strike out."

The Tides are easing Holliday back to the field, as he left the game after five innings, as was the plan. The infielder expects to play seven innings in the field next before being back to full-go. His bat, it seems, is already there.

Holliday feels that he's learned a lot from this injury, his second as a professional. He's eager to take what he's gained about how to take care of his body -- and attack pitches in the zone better -- for whenever he returns to Baltimore next.

"I'm excited to be back out there because I know the sooner that I'm healthy, hopefully the sooner I'm able to get called back up and help the Major League team," Holliday said. "The arm feels good and it just feels good to get back out there."