The Holliday family had a full circle baseball moment when Ethan Holliday, the son of former seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, was selected by the Colorado Rockies with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 MLB draft on July 13. Not only was Ethan Holliday the second son of Matt to be drafted into the big leagues, but he was selected by the team where the elder Holliday began his baseball career.
But Holliday's selection was far from just a marquee moment for his career, as well as a monumental one for his family. It also led to the phenon making MLB history.
The Rockies signed Holliday to a $9 million deal, according to MLB.com. The deal set a draft bonus record, surpassing the previous mark, which was set by 2025 No. 1 pick Eli Willits of the Washington Nationals. The record before that was held by none other than Holliday's older brother Jackson, of the Baltimore Orioles.
Holliday, a 6' 4" infielder, is regarded by MLB Pipeline as the top prospect in the 2025 draft. He hit .617 with 16 home runs in just 32 games during his senior year at Stillwater High School.
Now, he'll literally be following in his father's footsteps.
"This is a really incredible opportunity," Holliday said on MLB Network after being selected in the draft. "I'm so driven by faith, I'm so grateful. The Lord has really been the centerpiece of my life. I don't even know what words I can put to this. The Rockies organization, I'm so thankful, obviously with the family, the background, and my dad being drafted by them, that just adds such a cool thing. Knowing everyone in the organization since I was born, I'm just so grateful."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ex-MLB Star’s High School Son Gets Record $9M Signing Bonus After Draft.