Orioles top draft pick

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(Baltimore Sun)

Orioles agree to terms with first overall pick Jackson Holliday; record deal pending physical

By Andy Kostka

Baltimore Sun

•

Jul 21, 2022

The Orioles have reached an agreement with first overall draft pick Jackson Holliday, pending a physical, for $8.19 million, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Baltimore Sun.

The bonus for Holliday, a high school shortstop from Oklahoma and the son of former Major League Baseball All-Star Matt Holliday, is a record for a high school draft pick and narrowly edges the bonus top selection Adley Rutschman received in 2019 for the largest in team history.

The slot value for the first overall pick was $8,846,900, so Holliday’s agreed upon deal is slightly lower. The Orioles’ policy is to not comment on deals until they are official.

Holliday is the second top pick the Orioles have made under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and the third in the franchise’s history. The signing bonus the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to with outfielder Druw Jones, the second pick in the draft, was $8.189 million, according to multiple reports.  That broke the previous record for a high school draft pick, set in 2019 by shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Holliday was considered the third-best prospect in the draft by Baseball America and the second according to MLB Pipeline. The Orioles passed on Jones, an outfielder from Georgia and the son of former MLB All-Star Andruw Jones, and made Holliday the first high school position player Baltimore has chosen with its first pick since infielder Manny Machado in 2010.

“It’s hard to explain what it means,” Holliday said Sunday night. “It’s like a video game, honestly. Every video game you play, you’re the first pick, so that’s kind of what it felt like. Something that I’ll never forget, and it’s a true honor.

“I want to honor the Orioles for selecting me and I’m going to work as hard as I can to make it to the major leagues and have a great career for them and for their fans.”