Jeremiah Jackson has gone from backup infielder/outfielder to the Orioles’ everyday second baseman, and he’s doing it his way.

Jackson isn’t here to watch, whether in the dugout or in the batter’s box.

Among players with at least 60 plate appearances this season, his 3.06 pitches per PA were tied last night with Seattle’s Josh Naylor for second fewest in the majors after Toronto’s Ernie Clement (2.94). The Orioles, meanwhile, were averaging 3.94 pitches to rank seventh in the American League and 10th in the majors.

Finishing another game last night without a walk might be viewed as a negative for Jackson except that he’s on the hottest streak of his life.

Vladimir Guerrero holds the club record for most hits to begin a season before drawing his first walk with 32 in 2011, according to STATS. Felix Pie is next with 25, also in 2011.

Jackson’s 19 hits also put him behind Jackie Brandt’s 24 in 1961, Steve Lombardozzi’s 21 in 2014, Larry Haney’s 21 in 1968 and Caleb Joseph’s 20 in 2017.

Going in reverse, DJ Stewart holds the club record for most walks before collecting his first hit with nine in 2020, per STATS, followed by Calvin Pickering with seven in 1999, Chito Martinez with seven in 1992, Gunnar Henderson with six in 2023, Mike Young with six in 1987, and Cal Ripken Jr. with six in 1985. But I digress …

Jackson hasn’t drawn a walk, coming close last night on a full-count, eight-pitch strikeout in the eighth after fouling off a fastball and slider, and Taylor Ward hasn’t hit a home run, but it doesn’t really matter.

They were tied last night atop the Orioles’ bWAR leaderboard at 0.9. Jackson was batting .317/.323/.600, led the team in RBIs with 17 and ranked second in home runs with five. Ward was batting .291/.394/.418, led the team in doubles with 10 and hits with 23, and tied Pete Alonso for first with 13 walks. Ward doubled last night in the first inning to regain the major league lead.

There were a couple of reasons to believe that Jackson would emerge as one of the club’s top hitters this season – the .377/.400/.673 line with 15 doubles and 11 home runs in 40 games with Triple-A Norfolk last summer, and the .323/.344/.484 line in 26 games with the Orioles last August. But he batted .221/.310/.403 in 22 games in September, missed about a week in spring training with a mild calf strain and was in a crowded utility competition that included Blaze Alexander.

Injuries to Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg improved Jackson’s chances, and a strong finish in Florida sealed the deal.

Digging deeper in bWAR, reliever Rico Garcia was third on the Orioles at 0.8, followed by Trevor Rogers at 0.7, Adley Rutschman at 0.6 and Alonso and Cade Povich at 0.5.

Rutschman is on the 10-day injured list and Povich is in Triple-A. Rutschman should be back this week. He’s eligible to return Tuesday, with a decision pending on a short rehab assignment.

Garcia wasn’t assured of being in the majors when he reported to camp and he’s gone 10 straight appearances without allowing a run or hit to set the franchise record previously held by Yennier Cano.

Garcia is only the second pitcher in major league history to begin a season with 10 or more scoreless and hitless appearances and no inherited runners scoring, along with Tampa Bay’s Scott Aldred, who did it in 11 straight from April 8-May 1, 1999.

Rogers was first in fWAR yesterday at 0.7, followed by Jackson, Ward and Leody Taveras at 0.6. Rogers and Ward knew that they’d break camp with the team. Jackson and Taveras had to win jobs.

Baseball’s unpredictability is a large part of its appeal.

Speaking of which, the Orioles became the first team in major league history Thursday night to surrender a grand slam in the seventh inning or later to snap a scoreless tie and rally to win.

Jackson’s three-run shot Friday night that gave the Orioles a 6-4 lead was the eighth go-ahead homer in club history from a player batting ninth with the team trailing in the eighth inning or later. Rio Ruiz was the most recent before Jackson with his walk-off homer on Aug. 11, 2019 against the Astros.

Here’s a leftover on Weston Wilson: He was 3-for-21 with no RBIs as a pinch-hitter before Friday’s two-run double.

Here’s an observation from last night: Samuel Basallo is still getting the hang of the ABS system.

He challenged a call on an 0-1 pitch with one out and nobody on base in the first inning and lost, and it wasn’t that close. Much too early to appeal and not the proper situation.

Albernaz lowered his head, his body language confirming his feelings, and he spoke to Basallo after the inning.

Basallo is 4-for-12 on challenges.

Here are a few mailbag leftovers to get us through the morning, before the Orioles and Guardians complete their four-game series at Progressive Field.

How do the O’s really look to you so far? Taking account of injuries and all.
Inconsistent. Get swept by the Pirates, sweep the White Sox, move two games above .500, fall two games below .500. Threaten to lose the first two in the Guardians series after surrendering a grand slam in the seventh inning Friday night, but erupting for six runs in the eighth in a comeback win. They go from being no-hit for eight innings Thursday to almost tying the game in the ninth, and they go from being shut out through seven innings the next night to roaring past the Guardians in the eighth. The pitching, hitting and defense can go from good to bad and back again in quick order. We’re still trying to get a handle on this team, and that’s harder to do with so many key players on the injured list. We haven’t really seen the 2026 Orioles, just versions of it. One important discovery is how they keep battling through the adversity, whether health, losses or a manager drilled by a foul ball. I’ll second what The Baltimore Sun’s Jacob Calvin Meyer pointed out over the weekend: The Orioles appear to be a mentally tougher team than this time last year, when they didn’t reach .500 again after splitting their first six games. But I’ll add that it’s too early to make any definitive statements. As if that’s ever stopped us.

Do we have a plan for Christian Encarnacion-Strand? Seems like he’s a similar player to “Big Christmas” with a less catchy nickname.
Strand seems like an unfortunate name for a hitter. Just like Balfour for a pitcher. This is a low-risk move, just cash considerations, with the potential for a high reward. MLB Pipeline ranked Encarnacion-Strand as the Reds’ No. 7 prospect in 2023. The Orioles needed a hitter at Triple-A after some injury-related promotions and he’s worth a look. They’ll try to fix whatever’s caused him to stop hitting – injuries were a detriment – and see whether he can become an option for them down the road.

Why not move up Jeremiah Jackson in the order? Seems silly to keep batting him ninth.
Well, if it ain’t broke … But also, Jackson does a nice job of turning over the lineup for Gunnar Henderson, Taylor Ward and Pete Alonso. Albernaz talked about it yesterday with the media, saying how much he values the nine-hole hitter and that Jackson is flourishing at the bottom. “So let’s keep him there,” Albernaz said. “J.J. can hit anywhere in the lineup, but right now with the way our lineup is flowing and how he’s impacting the team, it’s perfect for the nine-hole.”

Could you please ask the Orioles players to score more runs at the beginning of the games? Thank you in advance.
I couldn’t find the suggestion box in Cleveland but will keep trying.

Is the fact that the O’s are finally developing some solid arms on the farm make them much more reticent to sign a hurler long term with some mileage on his arm, shoulder etc.?  It seems that it’s more important to keep the young arms than use them for trade “fodder” to sign a veteran long term.
The front office certainly knows the risks associated with long-term deals for pitchers. And selecting them in the early rounds of the draft. All of it. They just gave Shane Baz a five-year, $68 million extension. That’s a bold move for this organization. They’d ideally like to stay homegrown with pitching due to the exorbitant cost in free agency, though they made runs at Ranger Suárez and Framber Valdez, among others, over the winter. But stockpiling young pitching also enables the team to make trades, which we’ve also seen. So in conclusion, it’s always good to have lots of young pitching that can help the major league club on the field or in trade discussions. And the Orioles are open for business when it comes to spending on it.

Any updates on Jackson Holliday?
He began a new injury rehab assignment last night at High-A Frederick and went 0-for-3 with a hit by pitch. He’s playing for the Keys again today and probably will report back to Norfolk. There are no minor league games on Monday. Late April or early May return is possible.

How is Brandon Young doing?
He lowered his ERA to 1.08 last night with Norfolk after tossing 5 2/3 hitless innings in Durham with one run and 10 strikeouts. Two walks, a balk and a sacrifice fly produced the run. Keegan Akin replaced him, got the last out in the sixth and surrendered a solo homer to Dom Keegan in the seventh. And if anyone wants a Jud Fabian update, he homered twice last night and drove in four runs.

How is Dietrich Enns doing?
The timing of these questions is uncanny. Enns, on the IL with a left foot infection, began his rehab assignment last night with Norfolk and retired the three batters he faced, striking out two. Relievers don’t require as much ramp-up time as a starter, so he should be back fairly soon. The lefty relievers are comin’.

Do you think there are potato chips in heaven?
Whether you believe is Utz to you. In hell you only get Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.