Awarded the 1:1 selection for just the third time in franchise history, the Orioles selected to go with baseball lineage in the 2022 MLB Draft. Baltimore picked shortstop Jackson Holliday, the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday.
Here’s a look at what others are saying about the selection:
Despite all the chatter that the Orioles might do a discount deal and select a player who would sign for a bonus below the recommended allotment, they went for talent at No. 1 overall. Holliday is the best combination of hitting ability and ceiling in this Draft, and a great fit for a strong Orioles farm system. He’s a legitimate five-tool shortstop, who improved in all phases of his game this spring. MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds compared him to Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on the broadcast and I like that comp. [Read more.]
The Orioles take Jackson Holliday, son of Matt, one of the small handful of players worthy of the No. 1 pick in this jumbled year. I don’t think this will be an under-slot deal, given Holliday’s talent, college commitment and advisor (Scott Boras). My guess is Holliday — who is the first high school player the Orioles have taken with their first pick under Mike Elias — gets something near slot, and the Orioles get creative later on, as they have two extra picks. As for Holliday, he projects to stay at shortstop, and he reworked his body and his swing last offseason to get stronger and substantially improve scouts’ opinions of his future hit tool and potential for power. He went from “maybe he gets into the first round” to the first pick. And he has two younger brothers, in case you want to start scouting for 2025 and beyond. [Read more.]
In Holliday, the Orioles are getting an elite talent who has risen up draft boards steadily this spring thanks to his array of quality tools and projection at the plate. Holliday joins a group of recent top draft prospects currently making their way toward Baltimore as the O’s come out of their rebuild. [Read more.]
Grade: A
There isn’t much Holliday can’t do on the field. He has one of the best hit tools in the draft to go with plus power and plus speed. On top of a well-rounded bat, Holliday is expected to stick at shortstop with a steady glove and strong arm. High-school shortstops with five tools tend to go high in the draft, particularly if they have a well-developed hit tool, as Holliday does. The Orioles come away with a player who has both one of the highest floors and highest ceilings in the draft. [Read more.]
The upside for him is enormous. I mean, it’s a potential star playing shortstop, batting in the middle of the order, doing so for a very long time. In some regard, I don’t know that the ceiling gets much higher than somebody with that profile. [Read more.]
Photo Credit: Josh Dean Photography