With the eighth overall pick, the Blue Jays could select… Ethan Holliday?

The top high school player in the 2025 draft is Ethan Holliday.

If the Holliday last name sounds familiar, Ethan’s father is Matt Holliday, who spent 15 seasons in the big leagues with the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Yankees. He’s won the World Series once, is a seven-time All-Star, and a four-time Silver Slugger.

Moreover, Ethan’s brother Jackson was the first overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He’s played the last two seasons with their big league team, and while he hasn’t quite figured out the big league level, he’s only 21 years old. If Ethan is picked first overall, Jackson and Ethan will be the first set of brothers picked first overall.

It’s incredibly unlikely that Holliday drops all the way to the Toronto Blue Jays, but just in case he does, we’ll take a look at one of the top-ranked prospects. If you missed the last draft profile, we looked at Jamie Arnold.

Ethan Holliday’s bio

Holliday stands at 6’4”, 210 lbs and is ranked as MLB Pipeline’s top-ranked prospect. He plays both shortstop and third base and attends Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In the unlikely case that Holliday doesn’t sign, he’ll attend Oklahoma State. Holliday isn’t the only Oklahoma shortstop who is available in the top 10, as Eli Willits is also expected to go early in the first round.

Unsurprisingly, the Blue Jays never selected anyone from Stillwater High School, but have selected 14 prep players from the state of Oklahoma. The most recent one was Dallas Beeler in the 37th round of the 2008 draft, but he didn’t sign. The last time a high school player from Oklahoma signed was in 1999, as fourth-round pick Brian Cardwell agreed to terms with the Jays.

Only six players from Oklahoma High Schools signed with the Jays, but when including their collegiate selections, they were able to sign 38 players. That includes Juaron Watts-Brown in 2023. The only other Oklahoma draftee who signed and was picked in the Ross Atkins/Mark Shapiro era was Grant Townsend in 2018.

Around the big leagues, both Matt and Jackson were also selected from Stillwater High School, as was Matt’s brother Josh. Brett Anderson (2006), Jon Littell (2014), and Ryan Vilade (2017) are the three other players selected from the high school.

Ethan Holliday’s tools

According to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, Holliday’s best tool is his power, which is ranked among the best in the class. He’s a left-handed batter who still has projection in his 6’4” frame. It’s also noted that at this stage in his career, he’s considered the better prospect compared to his brother.

The hit tool lags behind the power, and he has average speed. Holliday will likely move to third base in the future. It’s a strong arm, but he’ll grow out of shortstop in the future.

Ethan Holliday’s grades

As always, here are Holliday’s grades according to MLB Pipeline:

Is Ethan Holliday a fit for the Blue Jays?

If Holliday somehow drops to the Blue Jays, he’d easily be the best player available to them, because he’s the best player available in the draft.

Although he’s ranked as MLB Pipeline’s best draft-eligible prospect, their recent mock draft has him going fourth overall to the Colorado Rockies – what a story that’d be. CBS’s most recent mock draft also has Holliday going fourth overall, as does Baseball America’s most recent mock draft. It seems like the consensus is that Holliday won’t be around when the Blue Jays pick.

If he somehow is, they have to draft him immediately, even if it means overslotting him while underslotting their other picks.