In the dog days of another lost season, the future begins to take a prominent place on the horizon, well within view of all who look to it. Like a respite from the shadows of gloom, the future rises like the Sun to hopefully shine brightly upon the path toward a better place. The Colorado Rockies are an organization slowly trying to build for the future as evidenced by the amount of youth that are now popping up and will do so in the final six weeks. However, I’m going to keep looking even further down the road to the 2025 Draft and a familiar name that the Rockies could have the chance of drafting.

The Rockies began their recent road trip tied with the Miami Marlins for the worst record in the National League and the second-worst in all of baseball behind only the lowly Chicago White Sox. New rules dictate that a team that is not part of MLB revenue-sharing cannot pick in the lottery in back-to-back years, and the Sox picked fifth in 2024, meaning they are ineligible to pick higher than 10th in 2025.

This news bodes well for the Rockies because it increases their chances for the first overall pick to about 21% which is four points higher than their 2024 odds. While the exact record placing will vary by the end of the season, it’s likely safe to say the Rockies will be selected in the top of the draft once more. They will have their pick of the litter and the name that may be the most impactful to a franchise is Ethan Holliday.

The younger son of former Rockies legend Matt Holliday, Ethan saw his older brother Jackson get drafted first overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022. Jackson readily ascended through the minors as the top prospect in baseball, finally debuting with the Orioles at the start of the 2024 season. He struggled in his first stint, was optioned back to Triple-A where he worked to find his groove again, upon which he has returned to the Orioles recently and has been on fire.

Jackson is quickly developing into a key piece for the Orioles for years to come and while folks think he’s good now, his brother projects to be even better.

Their father Matt has spoken very highly of Ethan. In a recent interview, he said, “People look at the size and some of those raw abilities. He’s got 111-mph exit velocity with the bat, he’s got an incredible strong arm, and just some of the tangible things at a young age that he was further along than Jackson was.”

Ethan, 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, looks the part of a slugger, a mirrored left-handed image of his father who spent 15 years in MLB. Scouts and talent evaluators figure that he’s got the size, the strength, the competitiveness and the personal makeup to be a perennial All-Star and is the best talent available in the 2025 draft.

Jered Goodwin, who is the Vice President of Scouting for Perfect Game, offered his insights to USA TODAY:

“He does a lot of things that Jackson did. Only with more physicality. He’s a big human being like Matt is. He has the fluidity, grace, sweet swing, all of that stuff. You can see this guy being one of those new-age big shortstops with massive power. His tools will translate at the very highest level.”

Shortly after the 2024 draft, mock drafts for the 2025 season quickly came to light and at the top of the list was Ethan Holliday.

Baseball America noted that Ethan is “…more physical than older brother Jackson at the same age and more likely to develop 30-plus home run power.” It also mentioned that he had more swing-and-miss potential and that he projected to a position change, perhaps to corner infield.

Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com wrote, “Some feel Ethan has the chance to be better than his older brother, Jackson, and is definitely more physical. The Oklahoma State recruit might have been 1-1 this year had he been eligible and the ball carries off his bat to all fields well with an easy swing.”

Thanks to an attractive approach at the plate and all the tools that scream power, Ethan is has the pedigree to be another great player in MLB history, following in the footsteps of his dad and his brother. While he also has the chance to stick at shortstop, his skillset could play quite well at a position like third base.

That’s where the Rockies come into play. As a team, the Rockies have a strong depth of infield position players. At the big league level, they are pretty well set at shortstop thanks to a great second season by Ezequiel Tovar who is under contract for seven more seasons. At second base they have a Top 100 prospect in Adael Amador waiting to take over. Should the team select Holliday, it could be with the third base on their mind.

Ryan McMahon is the current incumbent at the hot corner. Defensively he is arguably one of the best with a glove, but the offense has proven to be inconsistent. While he has displayed plenty of power, inconsistency has resulted in long slumps and power outages that have plagued his second half. He is signed through 2027 and the Rockies are shown no indications of trading him any time soon, that would be a perfect segue placeholder for Holliday to take over in 2028.

There is also a matter of other infielders in the system who are aiming for a shot in the big leagues. Kyle Karros, son of former Dodgers Eric Karros, has been on a tear in High-A Spokane this season and could end up winning MVP honors in the NWL. 2024 third-overall pick Charlie Condon is expected to be a key piece for the Rockies in the near future but it remains to be seen where he actually plays as the outfield is crowded as is and he isn’t the greatest option for third base but is still quite capable. There are a slew of other names that could make a bid but should the Rockies add Holliday it makes the decision process a bit more interesting.

Still, when you are able to get an elite talent full of potential, you pull out all the stops to make sure that player has a place to play. The Orioles moved Jackson to second base because the shortstop position was locked down by Gunnar Henderson, giving him the chance to play every day.

It stands to reason that folks expect the Rockies to take a pitcher in every draft, after all that is always their biggest weakness. However, as it stands the Rockies have a promising selection of arms in the system that need to run their course over the next few years. What has been a glaring omission from the Rockies over the past few years is a lack of star power. Players like Tovar and Brenton Doyle have started to garner some recognition in that aspect, but it’s still a far cry from the household names that the team once employed, like Matt Holliday. Ethan would bring star power not just in name, but play on the field if all goes according to plan. He would be another cog in a machine that features other young players mentioned in this article and helps move the Rockies back toward contention.

Colorado has never had the chance to draft first overall. Should the opportunity arise, there is no question that Ethan Holliday has to be taken at this point in time and he delivers a strong senior year of high school.