Rockies Reportedly Considering Over-Slot Bonus for Ethan Holliday amid MLB Draft Rumor

The Colorado Rockies are a franchise in desperate need of positive vibes, so potentially going above and beyond in the 2025 MLB draft for Ethan Holliday would be a good starting point.

Per The Athletic's Keith Law, the Rockies would consider an over-slot bonus for Holliday if they take him with the No. 4 overall pick.

Slot value for the fourth pick is $8.77 million. The Rockies' $15.723 million bonus pool is the fifth-most in this year's draft.

Even if Holliday signs for slot value, it would be the richest bonus ever given to a high school player in draft history. The current record is $8.19 million by Ethan's brother, Jackson, when he was drafted No. 1 by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022.

Only four players have ever received a draft bonus of at least $9 million, all of which came in the past two years. The group includes Chase Burns ($9.25 million), Charlie Condon ($9.25 million), Paul Skenes ($9.2 million) and Dylan Crews ($9 million).

Condon's bonus could be a useful comparison for Holliday. The Georgia star was taken No. 3 overall by Colorado last year and signed for nearly $200,000 above slot ($9,070,800).

This shows the Rockies are willing to be aggressive for a player they want. They would also have no problem selling Holliday to their fans since he is the son of Matt Holliday.

Matt was drafted by the Rockies in 1998 and spent six of his 15 MLB seasons with the organization. His best season was in 2007—the year Ethan was born—when he finished second in NL MVP voting and the Rockies advanced to the World Series.

There is some question about whether or not Holliday will be on the board when the Rockies go on the clock, but the odds could go up significantly if he doesn't go to the Washington Nationals at No. 1 overall.

In his most recent mock for MLB.com, Jonathan Mayo noted the are most likely deciding between Holliday and LSU pitcher Kade Anderson at the top of the draft.

If the Nationals pass on Holliday, it does open up a path for him to land in Colorado. The Los Angeles Angels, owners of the No. 2 pick, tend to favor college players who won't spend a lot of time in the minors.

There hasn't been a lot of buzz connecting the Seattle Mariners with the third pick to Holliday. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel cited the top three college lefty pitchers (Anderson, Liam Doyle and Jamie Arnold), college position players Aiva Arquette and Ike Irish and high-school right-hander Seth Hernandez among their top targets.

Holliday, the 2024-25 Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball in Oklahoma, hit .611 with 19 home runs and a 2.038 OPS for Stillwater High School this season.

The Rockies are on pace for their third consecutive season with at least 100 losses. They are 22-72 entering play on Saturday, 9.5 games worse than any other team in MLB.