Jackson Holliday, the number one Major League Baseball prospect, was just called up to the majors. Holliday is just 20 years old and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022. He made his debut on April 10th at second base. Everyone already loves Jackson Holliday, here is why.
Jackson Holliday started playing baseball at a young age. Jackson is the son of former MLB player, Matt Holliday, so he has been exposed to the baseball world since he was little. Matt Holliday played in the majors for 15 seasons and was a seven-time all-star. Before Jackson got drafted, he was committed to play baseball at Oklahoma State University.
When Holliday got drafted in 2022, the Orioles sent him to their Florida Complex League team. The FCL is a minor league team for rookies. Holliday received the largest signing bonus ever for a high school player, at 8.19 million dollars. Jackson Holliday spent just under two years in the minors. He played in six different minor league levels during his minor league career including double-A and triple-A.
Flash forward to 2024, Holliday got a chance to show off his skills during spring training. The Orioles had him come in as a non-roster invite. Holliday was continuing to prove himself worthy of the major leagues during training. When spring training was over, he got sent back down to triple-A. Many baseball fans were shocked by this move since Holliday had great spring training stats and is overall a great player.
In the 2024 season, Holliday played in ten games in triple-A. In those games, he had 14 hits, nine RBIs, and two home runs. During his minor league career, he had a batting average of .321. Holliday played in a total of 155 games and had 187 hits, 93 RBIs, and 15 home runs.
Holliday has such a strong support system around him and a lot of talent in his family. In attendance at his major league debut were his parents, Leslee and Matt Holliday, and his siblings Ethan, Reed, and Gracyn. Jackson’s wife, Chloé was also there. Jackson and Chloé got married in January 2024 and were high school sweethearts.
Baseball talent runs in the Holliday family. Along with Jackson’s dad, his uncle played baseball as well. Josh Holliday played in the minor leagues for two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays short A and Class A teams. He now coaches baseball at Oklahoma State University. Jackson’s brother, Ethan, is a potential number-one MLB draft pick for 2025. He is committed to play baseball at Oklahoma State University once he graduates high school.
On April 10th, it was announced that Holliday would be pulled up to the big leagues and the baseball world was ecstatic. Holliday took the jersey number seven, the same as his father’s. In his first game, he struck out at all three of his plate appearances. Holliday did not get a hit until his fourteenth at-bat on April 14th. So far Holliday has appeared in seven games. He has four runs and one RBI. He is expected to do some amazing things in the big leagues.
Edited by Shaniya Scales
Comments