High School Star Ethan Holliday Agrees Record $9m Signing Bonus With Rockies

Ethan Holliday agreed to a insignificant convention statement pinch a $9m prize pinch nan Colorado Rockies connected Tuesday, a grounds for a subordinate drafted retired of precocious schoolhouse nether nan existent system.

Holliday, a boy of Rockies awesome Matt Holliday and nan younger relative of Baltimore 2nd baseman Jackson Holliday, was nan No 4 wide prime successful this year’s draft. The 18-year-old, 6ft 4in shortstop from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was rated by MLB Pipeline arsenic nan No 1 disposable prospect.

The erstwhile grounds for a drafted precocious schoolhouse subordinate nether nan existent strategy was group this period by No 1 wide prime Eli Willits, who agreed to an $8.2m prize pinch Washington. That topped nan $8.19m fixed to Holliday’s brother, Jackson, by nan Orioles successful 2022.

The prize besides matches nan 4th highest for immoderate drafted subordinate since picks were restricted to insignificant convention contracts successful 2012, trailing Cincinnati right-hander Chase Burns and Colorado outfielder Charlie Condon (both $9.25m), Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes ($9.2m) and matching Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews. All 4 of those players signed aft attending college.

Holliday’s family pedigree is impressive. He is nan 4th personnel of his family to beryllium named authorities shot subordinate of nan twelvemonth grant successful Oklahoma aft his uncle Josh, begetter Matt and relative Jackson. Before his elder twelvemonth astatine precocious schoolhouse he had signed an endorsement woody pinch Adidas and went connected to station a .611 batting average, hitting 19 location runs successful 33 games pinch an OPS of 2.038.

His father, Matt, was a seven-time All-Star during a profession mostly spent pinch nan Rockies and St Louis Cardinals, pinch whom he won nan World Series successful 2011.