Washington Nationals Have Unique Chance to Create Holliday Sibling Rivalry

The Washington Nationals learned on Tuesday night that they would pick No. 1 overall in the 2025 MLB draft. They won the draft lottery and they will select No. 1 overall for the third time since they moved from Montreal 20 years ago.

Washington now has its choice of any of the top prospects for next July’s draft, but one stands out — and not just because to some he is the No. 1 overall prospect.

That prospect is Ethan Holliday.

Holliday is the son of former Major League star Matt Holliday and currently plays his high school baseball in Stillwater, Okla. He’s already signed a letter-of-intent to play college baseball at Oklahoma State, where he would play for his uncle, Josh Holliday.

There’s a good chance that Holliday won’t play college baseball, especially if the Nationals take him No. 1 overall. If so, he would follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Jackson Holliday.

And that’s where the fun starts.

Jackson Holliday was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles. His meteoric rise through the Orioles’ minor-league system allowed him to spend all of 2023 and a good portion of 2024 as the top-rated prospect in all of baseball.

He finally graduated from the prospect ranking this season as he played enough Major League games. He’s now considered the projected starting second baseman for the O’s next season.

While the Orioles and the Nationals are in different leagues, they are designated rivals in Interleague play. So the two teams play a series at each other’s stadiums each year.

That would mean, somewhere down the line, the Holliday brothers could face each other at Nationals Park or Camden Yards.

Of course, the Nationals would have to draft Ethan Holliday first.

He competed in the High School Home Run Derby at the MLB Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, in July. When he spoke to On SI, he said he would make his decision on college or pro baseball when the time comes.

“If the opportunity comes up and pro ball is the answer, I’ll do that,” he said. “And if not, I’ll go to college and enjoy trying to win a championship. Watching my older brother I just learned to enjoy the moment.”

There is no guarantee that he’ll have a similar rise as his older brother. Jackson Holliday finished with a slash line of 189/.255/.311/.565 with five home runs and 23 RBI in his first 60 MLB games.

But, the draft is all about promise. And Ethan Holliday has plenty of it. Annual rivalry meetings with his brother would be a great bonus.