The Baltimore Orioles have been navigating a challenging start to the season without one of their most promising young stars, Jackson Holliday. The 2022 No. 1 overall pick and former top prospect in all of baseball has been sidelined for 29 games due to a frustrating right hand injury. While his big-league numbers—a .229 batting average, .300 on-base percentage, and .659 OPS over parts of two seasons—haven't yet matched the hype, Holliday remains a cornerstone of the Orioles' long-term plans.

After a month-long absence, the 22-year-old infielder finally delivered some good news. On Thursday, speaking in the Orioles' clubhouse, Holliday revealed that he expects to begin rehab games next week. This update comes after a particularly tough stretch: he hasn't played since April 21, when discomfort in his surgically repaired right hand forced him off his second rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk.

The road back has been anything but smooth. Holliday fractured the hamate bone in his right hand during live batting practice on February 6, requiring surgery shortly after. By early March, he was swinging a bat again and seemed on pace for an early April return. But lingering pain slowed his progress, and his first rehab stint ended when he admitted he still didn't feel right at the plate. The Orioles shut him down, ran additional tests, and sent him out for a second rehab assignment in mid-April.

That assignment also ended abruptly. On April 21, during his very first at-bat, Holliday felt discomfort on the opposite side of his wrist—likely the result of overcompensation after surgery. For a player who was expected to take a meaningful step forward in 2026, this has been a frustrating setback. Still, with rehab games on the horizon, Holliday is finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and Orioles fans can start counting down the days until one of baseball's brightest young talents returns to the diamond.