BALTIMORE — The future is looking bright for baseball in Baltimore.
The Orioles added 22 new pieces to that potential future in the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Obviously, the O's drafted shortstop Jackson Holliday, shortstop from Stillwater, Oklahoma, as the first overall selection.
Baltimore continued to add three more infielders, four outfielders, two catchers, 11 righthanded pitchers and one lefthanded pitcher.
Holliday, represented by Scott Boras, has an agreement for a signing bonuses in excess of $8 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Holliday, a left-handed hitter from Stillwater High in Oklahoma, is 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds — quite a bit smaller than his 6-foot-4, 240-pound father. He hit .685 and with 89 hits in 41 games and broke a national record for hits in a high school season that had been held by J.T. Realmuto.
His dad was a seven-time All-Star in a big league career from 2004-18, including 2009-16 with the Cardinals. Holliday earned the 2007 NL batting title.
“I remember being in the clubhouse ever since he got to St Louis,” Jackson said. “So I feel like it’s definitely an advantage and I’ve gotten to see what it takes to get to the major leagues and how players, even when they’re at the top of their game, how hard they still work to maintain it.”
Jackson will head to the minors instead of attending Oklahoma State, where the baseball team is coached by his uncle Josh, Matt’s older brother.
“I’m about as prepared as you can be to take on this lifestyle,” Jackson said.
The O's selected outfielder Dylan Beavers with the 33rd pick and infielder Max Wagner with the 42nd pick.
