Orioles Take Jackson Holliday With No. 1 Pick in MLB Draft

The Oklahoma State commit is a highly touted shortstop prospect out of high school.

Another second generation baseball prospect is entering MLB.

Seven time All-Star Matt Holliday’s son, Jackson Holliday, is headed to the Orioles with pick No. 1 in the 2022 MLB Draft.

His time is NOW!

With the first pick in the 2022 #MLBDraft, we have selected infielder Jackson Holliday from Stillwater High School (OK). pic.twitter.com/iJFzk2azv4

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 17, 2022

In his 15-year career, Matt Holliday played for four different teams, mainly the Cardinals and Rockies, and hit 316 home runs with an .889 OPS. He is currently a volunteer assistant coach for Oklahoma State’s baseball team, mainly working with offensive development and outfield play.

Jackson is a high school shortstop out of Stillwater, Oklahoma who is committed to play at Oklahoma State with his father if he chooses not to sign. The Cowboys’ head baseball coach is Josh Holliday, Jackson’s uncle and Matt’s older brother.

MLB.com’s No. 2 overall prospect, who hits lefty and throws righty, accumulated a .686 batting average with 17 home runs as a senior in high school.

Now that he is officially an MLB draft pick, Holliday joins a growing list of second-generation players to enter the league. Al Leiter’s son Jack and Dusty Baker’s son Darren both played in the Future’s Game on Saturday, while Andruw Jones’s son Druw is the only prospect ranked higher in the draft per MLB.com.

The Orioles earned this top pick after finishing the 2021 season with a 52–110 record, tied with the Diamondbacks for the worst in baseball. Since Baltimore had the worst 2020 record, they “won” the tiebreaker over Arizona for the No. 1 pick.

This year marks the fourth straight season where Baltimore had a top-five pick, including their second No. 1 overall pick. In 2019, the Orioles selected catcher Adley Rutschman out of Oregon State, who became MLB’s top prospect before getting called up to the majors earlier this season.

However, the stretch of top five picks will likely end this year. Baltimore has surprised baseball with a solid first half, entering the All-Star break with a 46–46 record, their best record this late in a season since 2017.

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