The Orioles Get Their Guy! Select Jackson Holliday With The First Overall Pick Of The MLB Draft And Add Him To An Already Stacked Farm System
We really had no clue who the Orioles would take with the #1 pick in the draft, yesterday Vegas loved Brooks Lee, then earlier today it switched to Termarr Johnson being the early favorite. We knew it would be from a pool of about 5 guys, that is about the only thing that Mike Elias and the Orioles let us know. Outside of that it was a mystery. But when it came time to turn in the card to the podium the O's knew they had their guy. They ended up with Jackson Holliday out of Stillwater High in Oklahoma. He'll slide nicely right into a farm system that is loaded. I wrote this in my blog earlier....
"Kind of crazy Matt Holliday's kid is old enough to possibly be drafted 1.1. Jackson is a sweet swinging lefty out of Oklahoma who came on super strong these past few months. He's a hell of a hitter, so much so he broke J.T. Realmuto's national record for hits in a season. 89 hits in 41 games with a .685 average and a OBP of .749, guy can swing it. He's going to have to add weight to his 6'1" frame but that shouldn't be an issue, and with that weight should be more power which is scary because he's one of the best hitters already in the draft. A ton of MLB Draft lists have Druw Jones at #1 and Holliday at #2, so maybe there is a chance he somehow goes 1.1 if the Orioles pass on Jones, it wouldn't shock me. Even though he's a shortstop and the Orioles have a few SS prospects, you can move him and put him at second or even third. He'll hit wherever he's playing, that is something you can guarantee."
These numbers are legit drool over. He just hits. He's projected to be an All-Star shortstop, so I will take that any day. He is a hitting machine, like a legit machine. Set the record for National high school for hits. He's going to move somewhere in the infield, probably won't stick at short in the bigs. This is also the first prep hitter that the Orioles have taken since.....Manny Machado. I love this pick because he has an MLB caliber bat. The defense I'm less worried about but I've heard he can field it with the leather. What is there not to love about a long haired shortstop, the kid gets it. Plus he's Matt's son, so he has the pedigree. I've completely talked myself into this pick, Jackson Holliday. You ARE a Baltimore Oriole! LETS GOOOOOOOOO