Holliday Does Something Even His All-Star Dad Didn't, He Was the First Pick in the Draft
STILLWATER – Jackson Holliday will likely wear orange and black moving on from Stillwater High School. It just won’t be the orange and black at Oklahoma State where he signed with his uncle Josh to play college baseball. That is because the Baltimore Orioles made Jackson the first overall pick in the MLB Amateur Draft on Sunday evening. This year the draft was held on the biggest stage ever in downtown Los Angeles at the Xbox Park on the same weekend that L.A. and Dodger Stadium are hosting the MLB All-Star Game.
In true Holliday fashion, Jackson and his family chose not to be in the limelight of Los Angeles, but were show at home with family and friends gathered watching as Jackson made history. Stillwater High School has had a number of top draft picks including Jackson’s dad, Matt (seventh round to the Colorado Rockies), but this is rare air being the first pick in the entire draft.
“I was just trying to enjoy it,” Jackson Holliday told ESPN. “I was looking forward to it but we just treated it like a normal day. We went and hit and then we’ve been swimming. It has been an awesome day and it has been amazing.
“He is awesome and he is like my best friend,” Holliday continued in talking about his dad. “He is always there when I want to work and he is always pushing me to be great and I wouldn’t have been in this position without him.”
The first pick for the Orioles in this draft is slotted in value at $8,842,200. It would be insane that Holliday would chose not to sign and reap that kind of financial award to go and play in college at Oklahoma State.
“The only bad news for the Holliday family in this is that I don’t think that his Uncle Josh Holliday, who is the head coach at Oklahoma State is going to see his nephew playing for the Cowboys,” ESPN’s Kyle Peterson said on the ESPN national broadcast of the draft.
It is tremendous news for the Holliday family and Matt was certainly the proud father.
“It is very surrreal. I just looked at my wife before the draft started and said it is crazy that we are here,” Matt Holliday told ESPN. “Jackson is old enough to have this kind of experience and I’m super excited to share this experience with him as a dad and to share a passion for baseball with him and get to watch the first step really in his career and his goals come true. For him to be picked with the first pick in the first round by a storied franchise is pretty exciting.”
Holliday set a national single-season record with 89 hits as he batted .685 with 17 home runs and 79 RBIs for the Pioneers (29-12), who lost to eventual Class 6A state champion Owasso in the regional finals. He also hit 37 singles, 29 doubles and six triples. All of that earned him multiple Player of the Year awards and he was the Gatorade State and National Baseball Player of the Year.
Holliday also had a 2.141 OPS, was 30-for-30 on stolen bases and scored 74 runs. He is an excellent fielding shortstop that has also been rumored as a possible centerfielder prospect in the big leagues because of his speed. Either way the Orioles know they can shore up their infield or outfield defense and get huge production at the plate with Holliday.
The next step will be the decision, which as the number one overall pick you would think certainly has already been made. The slotting makes negotiation much simpler. Then for Holliday and the Orioles, the decision on when he reports and where too. My guess is he would go to rookie ball and play until they have a good feel where to slot him. Remember, Jackson Holliday is young and he is going to fill out more and get even more mature from a physical standpoint, but a left-handed bat with a premier shortstop defensive talent is going to move quickly.
Finally in the ESPN Draft broadcast, Jackson Holliday was asked by Jessica Mendoza about his long flowing hair. He said he started growing it when he got to high school because he kind of idolized and styled his game after the San Francisco Giants Brandon Crawford, who has long black hair. Holliday added, “Since my dad and uncle don’t have much hair, I decided to continue to let it grow and keep it long.”