What Might Ethan Holliday Bring to the Colorado Rockies?
Quite a lot, it turns out.
On Sunday afternoon, many of the Colorado Rockies’ dreams came true when they drafted Ethan Holliday, son of franchise icon Matt Holliday and brother of former first-round draft pick Jackson Holliday, as the fourth selection of the MLB Draft.
Ethan was named the Baseball America High School Player of the Year and the National Prep Baseball Player of the Year. He was also recognized as the No. 1 high school prospect entering the 2025 Draft by Perfect Game.
It’s a notable selection for a number of reasons, so it’s worth taking a minute to sort through the possibilities.
Can you provide some background?
As a top prospect, there’s been a great deal written about the 18-year-old shortstop. (See here, here, and here, for example.)
The buzz around Ethan Holliday was tremendous, and he emerged in the 2025 draft class as one of the best left-handed power bats and an overall top pick. Here’s how MLB Pipeline evaluates Holliday’s tools:
• Hit: 50
• Power: 65
• Run: 50
• Arm: 55
• Field: 50
• Overall: 60
Again, according to MLB Pipeline,
Gatorade's Oklahoma player of the year, Holliday may have the most usable left-handed power in the Draft and he generates it with little effort. Still adding to his 6-foot-4 frame, he already has plenty of strength and an easy left-handed swing with plenty of bat speed and leverage. He tried to do too much when he got pitched around on the circuit last summer, leading to some swing-and-miss concerns, but he should develop into at least an average hitter with 35-homer pop and plenty of walks.
Sounds promising!
MLB Pipeline suspects that as Holliday continues to grow and fill out, he will lose some speed and probably move to third though he looks to have the arm strength to be effective there.
FWIW, in a post-draft interview with media, Holliday shouted out Nolan Arenado. “He's probably been my favorite player since I was young,” Holliday said. If he can approach Arenado’s production, this draft will be a clear win for the Rockies.
That’s a comparison that is music to the ears of Colorado Rockies fans.
So, what does he bring to the Rockies?
Here’s where things get interesting.
Obviously, the Rockies hope they have a marquee player and future All-Star who can lead the Rockies out of their current baseball wilderness. Look, the 2025 Colorado Rockies are historically bad.
But I suspect they see more here.
• He’s familiar — The Rockies have known the Hollidays for very long time — they drafted Matt in 1998. Dick Monfort’s preference for the familiar is well known, and Ethan certainly fits that bill. When the Baltimore Orioles played the Rockies last September, the Holliday family was there, and it was clear the Rockies were seriously recruiting Ethan.
It’s also the first time I heard Jackson make the case for his younger brother’s potential. “He's a little bit more top tier than I was at the beginning,” Jackson said, adding, “He's very special talent.” (View Jackson’s more-recent comments here.)
• Perhaps he’s the future face of the franchise — Since Nolan Arenado was traded, the Rockies have searched for an identity. Dick Monfort attempted to correct that in signing Kris Bryant, and so far, the experiment has failed. In 2025, the Rockies have been branded as “Historically Bad,” which really isn’t what any professional sports franchise wants.
But Ethan Holliday brings together so many pieces of Rockies lore. One of the great moments in Rockies history involves whether Matt Holliday touched home plate.
(Yes, he did.)
In Ethan, they have found that player who connects the Rockies Rocktober 2007 past to what they hope is its future. The name “Holliday” has cachet in Denver, and the Rockies intend to build on it. He’s a player who will engage an exhausted fan base as he works his way through the minor leagues.
And it’s not just the fact that Matt is his father. Ethan has spent his life around some of the best-known Rockies. As he told reporters on Sunday night, “That's another thing that I haven't really wrapped my head around quite yet, is I'm now a Rockie, and it's kind of weird saying that, but all these guys that I've been around growing up with, and who've been such influences in my life or I'm now a part of something that they're a part of.” As cases in point, he cited Troy Tulowitzki and Ryan Spilborghs.
It’s a publicist’s dream.
Really, if the Rockies could construct an ideal player, it would be Ethan Holliday.
This is a lot of pressure to put on an 18 year old. But one thing that becomes clear in talking with Jackson or Ethan is that they have grown up in an elite baseball finishing school. Their father, their uncle (Josh, the Oklahoma State baseball coach), their grandfather (Tom) are all baseball lifers.
Ethan is, as Cody Stavenhagen put it, “a pick four generations in the making.”
And Ethan will have an additional benefit. Although the Rockies are unable to develop players, in Matt, Ethan will have his own personal coach — and one very familiar with playing at elevation. That’s no small thing, especially as the Rockies attempt to find the way out of the developmental quagmire in which they’ve immersed themselves.
What happens next?
After the contracts are signed and Ethan makes his trip to the Arizona Complex for orientation, he’ll probably start his professional season with Low-A Fresno.
And then, all eyes will be on him.
Hopefully, however, the Rockies will put their house in order first.
Stay tuned.
This week on the internet
In case you wondered what the Rockies might have in mind in terms of Ethan as the face of the franchise, immediately following Ethan’s selection, Rockies social media posted this photo:
That’s Matt Holliday in 2007 — the year of Rocktober — holding a sleepy Ethan while standing on the Coors Field first-base line.
I asked Matt if there was any chance they could recreate the photo, and he said, “I obviously can't carry him like that anymore. I tried earlier. He's a little too big for that, but it definitely is fun for our family to look at those pictures and enjoy that.”
You can see why the Rockies are absolutely elated that Ethan Holliday will be a Rockie.
What I’m reading
• “State of the Position, Mid-season 2025” | Purple Row — Every March, the writers at Purple Row do an assessment of the Rockies system, from players to ownership. We see it as a way of previewing the coming season. This year, given the season’s historic nature (derogatory), we thought it was worth revisiting those pieces in an attempt to begin the autopsy of what happened. I’ve found the series informative.
• “Baseball won with All-Star Game, but Rockies keep losing” | Denver Post — Troy Renck is clear: The Rockies must embrace change because what they’re doing isn’t working. (Added points for the Broncos comparisons.)
• “Hunter Goodman cut down on chase and was chosen for the All-Star Team” | FanGraphs — You can tell when a team has recently played the Boston Red Sox because they are likely to emerge in a David Laurila article. In this one, Goodman explains what’s changed in his approach.
• “Hunter Goodman was destined to be an All-Star catcher” | MLB.com — Thomas Harding does a deep dive on Goodman’s journey to the pros. (His parents statements make this one worth reading.)
Closing Thoughts
And that’s it for this week.
The good news is that baseball returns today! (The All-Star break always seems to last forever.) In addition, the trade market should start moving soon.
Prediction: The Rockies will surprise everyone and be sellers, moving five players. (But it’s the Rockies, so who knows?)
As always, thanks for reading!
Renee
Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball. Find me on Bluesky at @ReneeDechert.com.
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/07/14/ethan-holliday-rockies-draft-big-leagues-timeline-debate/
