Aug 6, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.
Question: Do you think Jackson Holliday will be on the playoff roster? I still believe and hope he will be a star, but he is only 20 and seems to be struggling again. Of course, I’m only going off of his stats and not his contact rate or other factors. I can’t imagine they would just keep him on the roster only because of his future potential? From: Wes Smith
Answer: Wes, that’s a good question, one that I hadn’t considered. I don’t know if Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg will return for the postseason, which will start two weeks from today if the Orioles are in the wild-card round, which seems likely.
The Orioles will have 26 players on the postseason roster, two fewer than they have now, and if both Urías and Westburg are back, it’s possible that Holliday will be the odd man out. You are correct. He’ll be on the postseason roster only if the team thinks he can help, not because he’s going to be terrific in 2025 or 2026.
Question: It’s pretty obvious that the post-All Star break Orioles are not hitting like the pre-break variety. We have two batting coaches, neither of whom have any major league experience. Isn’t it time to replace these two with someone who knows how to hit in the major leagues? From: Glenn Luedtke, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Answer: Glenn, I’ve received a number of questions from readers who are critical of the Orioles’ batting coaches. Daniel Forte wanted to know how the duties are divided.
Actually, the Orioles have three batting coaches — Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte, who are the co-hitting coaches, and Cody Asche, the offensive strategy coach.
While Fuller and Borgschulte didn’t play in the major leagues, Asche spent five years in the majors with the Phillies and White Sox.
I think all teams have at least two batting coaches and a number have three. Many, like the Orioles, don’t have major league playing experience, The same is true for pitching coaches.
They don’t have specific players they work with. All of them work with all the players and aim for a consistent message.
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