Oklahoma State head baseball coach Josh Holliday has spent time with two of the newest members of the Baltimore Orioles organization.
One of them is Jackson Holliday, the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday and the nephew of Josh, who Baltimore grabbed with the No. 1 overall pick. The other selection came in the third round, when Baltimore took Oklahoma State two-way threat Nolan McLean with the No. 81 overall pick.
With Jackson Holliday, the Orioles selected the guy they hope is their long-term answer up the middle to pair with Gunnar Henderson.
“[Jackson has] obviously gotten very strong and his skills and performance have just gotten better,” Josh Holliday said on Glenn Clark Radio July 20. “He’s awfully good. We’re really proud of him, and I think the Orioles made a tremendous selection.”
Josh started to spend a lot of time around Jackson once his family moved to Stillwater, Okla., following the end of Matt’s playing career. Holliday arrived during his eighth-grade summer, weighing around 150 pounds. According to his uncle, Holliday “had a great swing, was a good player, but was really just starting to blossom physically.”
Now at 6-foot-1, 175-pounds, the left-handed batter’s tremendous final season of high school ball carried him to the first overall pick. Holliday put up video game-like numbers at Stillwater High School with a slash line of .685/.749/1.392, and his 89 hits broke Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto’s national high school record.
Holliday was named Collegiate Baseball’s National High School Player of the Year for 2022.
“What struck me the most was what a patient hitter and what [a] tremendous eye he had,” Holliday said. “Never swung out of the zone, always under control, he hit the ball the opposite field, and he played with a steadiness and a calmness that you rarely see.”
Being selected No. 1 overall comes with high expectations, and the legacy of his last name adds extra pressure as well. Throw in the fact that the Orioles haven’t had a winning season since 2016, and it would be understandable for Holliday to feel the pressure. Even as a 3-year-old, Holliday was heralded by some of his father’s teammates to become not just a major leaguer, but a very good one at that:
Despite all the challenges that await Holliday, being raised in a baseball family has more than prepared him to tackle any obstacle thrown his way.
“This will be nothing entirely new to him,” Holliday said. “Obviously being the first pick in the draft, that’s a pretty small fraternity of players that can lay claim to that, but where I think he’ll handle it really well [is that] he’s a very humble person, he is one of the most non-self-absorbed kids of this generation that I’ve ever been around.”
Beyond his nephew, Josh Holliday also has unique insights on Orioles’ third-round pick Nolan McLean, whom he coached at Oklahoma State. McLean’s selection was listed as a pitcher, creating speculation that the Orioles intend to use him in that regard.
During his two seasons at Oklahoma State, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander was used exclusively out of the bullpen. McLean appeared in 23 games this past season, striking out 39 batters in 25.1 innings for a 13.9 K/9 rate.
“He reminds me of a Trevor Rosenthal on the mound when Trevor was saving 50 games for the Cardinals,” Holliday said. “… I see similarities where he can be an elite closer in the major leagues.”
At the plate, McLean had a very successful sophomore season for the Cowboys, finishing with a slash line of .285/.397/.595 and slugging 19 home runs in 64 games.
This past season, McLean was honored by his conference for his performance both on the mound and at the plate. McLean was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a utility player and to the All-Big 12 Second Team as a pitcher.
According to his coach, McLean “has immense raw power, probably as good as anyone in this draft.” Despite that, McLean’s fastest path to the big leagues looks to be on the mound.
“As a hitter, he’s a really good prospect,” Holliday said. “As a pitcher, he’s an elite prospect,”
For more from Josh Holliday, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Josh Dean Photography