School: Stillwater High School; Class: Senior
Position: SS; B/T: L/R
Height: 6-1; Weight: 175
Previously Drafted: N/A
College Commitment: Oklahoma State University
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 60 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 50/55 | 60 |
Background: Oklahoma-based Stillwater High School hasn’t produced a lot of future professional ballplayers during throughout its history. But when a player does get drafted coming out of the prep school, the odds are pretty good that (A) he’s going to make it to the big leagues and (B) he’s probably going to fall somewhere on the Holliday family tree.
Three of the school’s six picks made the big leagues: seven-time All-Star and 2007 batting champ Matt Holliday (Jackson’s old man), Brett Anderson, and Ryan Vilade. Likewise, two of the school’s six picks are Hollidays.
Along with Jackson’s dad, the young shortstop’s uncle, Josh Holliday, was the selected coming out of high school – though he spurned the Twins’ interest as a 14th round pick and opted to attend Oklahoma State University. Four years later the Blue Jays snagged him in the ninth round. But after two mediocre seasons in the low levels, Holliday called it quits. He would spend a couple years on his dad’s coaching staff at Oklahoma State, would leave, and eventually return to take over the head coaching gig in 2012.
Baseball runs deep in the Holliday family. And Jackson, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound lefty-swinging shortstop, is next in line.
Committed to Oklahoma State – where else would a Holliday go? – the young infielder was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year following a tremendous senior campaign. He slugged .685/.749/1.392 with 17 homeruns and 79 RBIs. He also – quietly – set the National Federation of High Schools single season mark for hits in a season with 89.
Scouting Report: Beautiful left-handed swing that’s going to spray line drives from foul line to foul line without too much bais. There’s a chance the hit tool develops into a perennial .300 hitter during his peak in the professional ranks. Holliday isn’t going to hit mammoth homeruns, but he should hit 20 dingers that leave the park in a hurry. Defensively, he has the chops to stay at the position. Smooth, quick, not flashy. He’s a blue-collar shortstop that has a chance to grade out as above-average. It wouldn’t be shocking to look back in 10 years and view Holliday as the top prospect in the class.
Ceiling: 6.0-win player
Risk: Moderate
Grade: First Round
