Ethan Holliday, the fourth overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, has signed a deal with the Colorado Rockies that includes a $9 million bonus, according to a league source. The deal was first reported by Jim Callis of MLB.com.
The rookie’s signing bonus is above the slot value for his pick at $8,770,900 and is the highest ever for a player out of high school.
The 18-year-old was the No. 4 pick despite being the top-ranked prospect in the draft. The Washington Nationals used their No. 1 pick on fellow Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits, who signed for a reported under-slot bonus of $8.2 million.
Holliday’s reported bonus is tied for fourth-highest in MLB draft history with the Nationals’ Dylan Crews, drafted out of LSU in 2023. The Rockies gave Charlie Condon, the No. 3 pick last year, $9.25 million.
The high school shortstop and Oklahoma St. recruit became the third member of the Holliday family to be drafted and the second to be selected in the first round. His older brother, Jackson, was taken as the first overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022. His father, Matt, was a seventh-round pick by the Rockies in 1998 and played in Colorado for six of his 15 major-league seasons.
Jackson Holliday received a signing bonus of $8.19 million from the Orioles. At the time, it was the largest bonus given to a high school player.
(Top photo of Holliday: Sarah Phipps / The Oklahoman / USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)