Orioles news: Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman, Birdland Caravan

Coming into 2024, Jackson Holliday was the consensus top prospect in the sport. It was clear at the time that he was bound to be a superstar and that he was prepared to help lead the Orioles to their first bout of postseason success in over a decade.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite pan out as well as we'd hoped. Holliday mostly struggled during his time in Baltimore, hitting .189/.255/.311 in 208 plate appearances. The plate discipline didn't translate to major league success either, as the lefty struck out over 33% of the time.

The last point will likely be the X factor for Holliday in 2025. Holliday acknowledged as much at a Birdland Caravan event earlier this weekend. He told reporters, "I know what I need to do. I know I need to cut down strikeouts and continue to hit mistakes and hit fastballs".

Holliday hit just .214 with a .349 expected SLG against fastballs in 2024, both below average marks compared to his peers. He was dismal against breaking stuff as well, hitting .118 against them with a near 40% whiff rate. If Holliday wants to be successful in 2025, sizing up pitches that he can hit is a good place to start. At least he knows that. With any luck, he'll get things turned around quickly.

Jackson Holliday and Adley Rutschman need to show up if the Orioles want to win in 2025

Like Holliday, catcher Adley Rutschman had his fair share of issues during 2024. He had a strong first half but was hit by a batted ball at the end of June and things completely fell apart after that. It's up for debate whether that ball striking his wrist was the source of his collapse but it's tough to think otherwise given his performance after it happened.

Thankfully, Rutschman told reporters this weekend that he's eager to get back to work, and confident that he'll be able to put the injury behind him. "I trust my ability to bounce back and work hard and get healthy and do all the things necessary", Rutschman said.

Rutschman and Holliday aren't the only guys looking to get back on track. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle is arguably looking at what could be his last chance to get things turned around in an Orioles uniform. He's been the subject of several trade rumors already this winter, but Mike Elias at least seems confident in a bounce back.

Given that Mountcastle has been the guy most affected by the left field wall changes at Camden Yards, he's got the most to gain with the O's moving the fences back in for 2025. During his 2021 campaign, Mountcastle launched 33 homers and posted a .487 SLG. In the past two years with the deeper left field wall, he's hit just 31 homers combined.

Mountcastle told reporters this weekend that he's excited about the wall coming back in, and he's confident in his ability to once again be an impact hitter for the O's. Baltimore already has to face stiff competition in a very deep AL East, so if Mountcastle can get back to his 2021 form, it'd go a long way toward putting the Orioles over the top.