Orioles' Holliday amid 1-for-30 start: 'I wasn't expecting this'

Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday is struggling, but the 20-year-old prospect isn't going to let his slow start affect his focus.

"Obviously I wasn't expecting this," Holliday said, according to The Athletic's Sam Blum.

"I knew what I was getting myself into. It's the best of the best of the best for a reason. I guess I haven't had a challenge yet, and this is the first one. … It's obviously challenging, but I feel like I'm handling it the best that I can."

Holliday, baseball's top prospect, has started his major-league career with a 1-for-30 slump. He was called up on April 10 following a hot start to his minor-league campaign.

"I don't think there's very many people in the big leagues who haven't struggled," Holliday said. "It just happens to be at the beginning."

Orioles hitting coach Ryan Fuller believes Holliday will be fine and added Baltimore's staff is assisting the youngster with mechanical tweaks that should help him better attack high fastballs and breaking balls down in the zone.

"There's a process that you go through in the big leagues," Fuller said. "It’s the jungle. And no matter what you have done in the minor leagues, when you come up here, there's external pressure. You've got cameras in your face at all times. It's just a higher level. He's going to be fine. He's here for a reason."

Even with Holliday's slow start, the Orioles sit atop the American League East standings with a 15-7 record.

Baltimore is slated to play two more games against the Los Angeles Angels and three contests against the Oakland Athletics this week before hosting a four-game showdown against the division-rival New York Yankees from April 29 to May 2.