MLB Mock Draft: Texas Gets Son of Cardinals 2011 World Champion
The Texas Rangers are two months away from selecting No. 3 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, and The Athletic’s most recent first-round mock has the Rangers taking a player with MLB bloodlines.
The mock draft has the Rangers dipping into the high school ranks to take Stillwater, Oklahoma shortstop Jackson Holliday.
Last name sound familiar? It should because he’s the son of Matt Holliday.
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The elder Holliday is also a Stillwater native and played in the majors from 2004 to 2018 for Colorado, Oakland, St. Louis and the New York Yankees. Rangers fans are familiar with his work in the 2011 World Series when he helped the Cardinals defeat Texas in seven games.
He was a seven-time All-Star, a former National League Championship Series MVP, the 2007 National League batting champion and a four-time Silver Slugger.
He's currently the hitting coach at Oklahoma State and working for his brother, Josh, who is the head coach. But that may not be enough to keep Jackson Holliday in town if the Rangers take him No. 3 overall.
In March, the younger Holliday and his team went to a tournament in Arizona, which gave MLB scouts an opportunity to see him, and, based on that, he moved up the draft boards.
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Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
The Rangers already have a long-term answer at shortstop in Corey Seager. But Holliday may be able to become more than a shortstop.
The mock draft featured two other players that are the sons of former MLB players. Druw Jones, the son of Andruw Jones — who spent a year with the Rangers in 2009 — went No. 2 to Arizona. Cam Collier, the son of eight-year MLB vet Lou Collier, went No. 7 to the Chicago Cubs.
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