MLB Opening Day is here, but Jackson Holliday, Jackson Jobe should join ranks soon enough
Jackson and Jackson. Holliday and Jobe.
Two of the top prospects in baseball, Baltimore infielder Jackson Holliday and Detroit pitcher Jackson Jobe, share the same name and the same Oklahoma roots.
Neither will take the field Thursday on Opening Day, but it won’t be long before the Oklahoma prep products break into the big leagues.
Holliday is the No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com. Jobe checks in at No. 25.
They’re among the 10 Oklahomans you should know heading into the 2024 MLB season.
More: MLB predictions 2024: Who's winning it all? World Series, MVP, Cy Young picks
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
Holliday was unexpectedly left off of Baltimore’s Opening Day roster. Orioles executive Mike Elias told reporters that the left-handed hitting Holliday needed more reps against left-handed pitching, as well as more defensive reps at second base.
New rules have been put in place to disincentivize teams from manipulating the service time of their top prospects, and given Baltimore’s depth, maybe Elias had a point.
The Orioles are a World Series contender, and they’ll only be strengthened once Holliday joins the fray from Triple-A Norfolk.
The former Stillwater standout and son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
Across four levels in 2023, the 20-year-old Holliday hit .323 with a .442 on-base percentage.
More: Which MLB, minor league baseball players have Oklahoma ties?
Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers
Drafting high school pitchers is risky business, but Detroit apparently knew what it was doing in picking Jobe third overall in 2021.
The right-hander from Heritage Hall became the state’s highest-drafted high school player ever until Holliday was picked No. 1 a year later.
Jobe, the son of pro golfer Brandt Jobe, went 9-0 as a senior at Heritage Hall with a 0.13 ERA and 122 strikeouts against five walks in 51.2 innings.
Jobe has struck out 184 batters in his 157 innings as a pro. In spring training, Jobe clocked a 102 mile per hour fastball. He’s expected to open the season with Triple-A Toledo.
J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies
The former Carl Albert standout is set to enter his 11th MLB season. At 33, he remains one of the best catchers in baseball.
Realmuto is a three-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner. He’s been an NL East lifer, with five seasons in Miami and five in Philadelphia.
Realmuto has the most wins above replacement (WAR) among active catchers.
Realmuto’s 154 career home runs are the 13th most all time among Oklahoma-born players.
Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals
Helsley, an All-Star in 2022, brings the heat at the back end of the Cardinals’ bullpen. With 33 combined saves in the last two seasons, Helsley will open the season as the Cardinals’ closer.
Injuries have limited him, but he’s electric when healthy. He’s among the hardest throwers in the game.
Helsley grew up in Tahlequah and went to Northeastern State.
Jon Gray, Texas Rangers
That’s World Series Champion, Jon Gray.
From Chandler High School to Eastern Oklahoma State to OU to the No. 3 pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, Gray is set to enter his 10th big-league season.
Gray pitched in two of the Rangers’ World Series games, allowing just two hits, no walks and no runs with seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Gray threw 157.1 innings last season, his most since 2018. The upgraded pitching environment from Colorado to Texas has done wonders for Gray’s numbers. His ERA with the Rangers is 4.05, down from 4.59 with the Rockies.
Gray isn’t the ace he was drafted to be, but he’s a reliable mid-rotation arm.
Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers
From one World Series champ to the next.
Gray got the win in Game 3, and Putnam City’s Andrew Heaney got the win in Game 4.
Heaney, who pitched at OSU, was drafted ninth overall by the Marlins in 2012. Heaney has spent the bulk of his career with the Angels, but he pitched for the Yankees and Dodgers before landing with the Rangers.
Heaney logged 147.1 innings with Texas. Like Gray, it was Heaney’s heaviest workload since 2018.
Tyler Wells, Baltimore Orioles
Wells was born and raised in Tulsa before moving to Morgantown, West Virginia, when he was 13.
A 15th-round pick out of California State (San Bernardino), the 29-year-old Wells now has a rotation spot with the Orioles.
Wells started 20 games last season, going 7-6 with a 3.64 ERA.
Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs
Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes is the No. 1 right-handed pitching prospect in the game, according to MLB.com. The aforementioned Jackson Jobe is No. 2. No. 3 is another Oklahoman: Cubs prospect Cade Horton.
From Norman High, Horton signed to play for his hometown Sooners. A cornerstone of OU’s College World Series runner-up team, Horton was selected seventh by the Cubs in the 2022 draft.
Horton was dominant in his first season of pro ball. He had 117 strikeouts in 88.1 innings. The 22-year-old could make his MLB debut as soon as this season.
Adrian Houser, New York Mets
Houser was drafted in 2011 straight out of Locust Grove High School.
Houser made 97 starts for the Brewers from 2015-23, going 31-34 with a 4.00 ERA. He’s a low-strikeout pitcher who survives by inducing ground balls, but Houser has made it work.
The Mets acquired him from the Brewers in an offseason trade. The 31-year-old Houser is expected to have a rotation spot in New York.
Cade Cavalli, Washington Nationals
Cavalli will begin the season on the IL as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but the Nationals are targeting a June return for their No. 4 prospect, according to MLB.com.
The right-handed pitcher from Bixby, who played at OU, has played in one MLB game.
The former first-rounder should log innings with the Nationals this season, but he’s not likely to be stretched out until 2025. Amid a rebuild, the Nationals will be cautious with Cavalli.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jackson Holliday, Jackson Jobe among Oklahomans to know for MLB season
