THE JACKSON FOUR
HOLLIDAY’S RAPID RISE IN 2023
The draft is not a crapshoot. It’s not a random dice roll that determines success or failure. Teams devote thousands of hours from dozens of people to get draft decisions right.
But there is always luck involved. Sometimes a team picks at the top of a draft with a franchise player available. Other times, no such player is available. Sometimes, teams get it wrong.
Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Joe Mauer and Bryce Harper proved to be the type of No. 1 picks that playoff teams are built around.
Other times, Matt Bush, Tim Beckham or Luke Hochevar are drafted first overall.
Just 16 months after being drafted first overall in 2022, Jackson Holliday looks like he belongs with the former group.
Holliday was the High School Player of the Year heading into the 2022 draft, when the Orioles chose him first overall.
A year later he was in Double-A. In September of his first full season he was at Triple-A Norfolk after blitzing through four levels of the minor leagues.
Holliday hit .323/.442/.501 and led the minors with 113 runs and ranked fifth in on-base percentage. He walked almost as much as he struck out. He’s proven a reliable and solid defender at shortstop and second base. He showed off plus speed with 24 stolen bases.
And he’s impressed
