Not mentioned in the article is that Jackson is the son of Matt Holliday.

Has there ever been a period where there are more good/great ballplayers whose dads were also MLB players?

Off the top of my head:
Fernando Tatis
Vlad Guerrero
Bo Bichette
Jeremy Pena
Lance McCullers
Bobby Witt
Daulton Varsho

and maybe Cavan Biggio and Adalberto Mondesi, if we consider them to be "good"

Cody Bellinger was good for a while too.

Two other MLB sons were also picked in the first round after Holliday: Druw Jones (#2) and Justin Crawford (#17).

MLBtv ran a video "highlight" of Holliday getting picked between innings this season -- the kid's about half the size of his dad. Possibly dad missed the "you can stop the roids now" memo. Dad looked more excited too.

I think the sons active in 1998 were probably better than the current brood...

Barry Bonds: .303/.438/.609 (178 OPS+), with 37 hr, 122 rbi, 28 sb, and 8.1 bWAR
Ken Griffey Jr: .284/.365/.611 (150 OPS+), with 56 hr, 146 rbi, 20 sb, and 6.6 bWAR
Moises Alou: .312/.399/.582 (157 OPS+), with 39 hr, 124 rbi, and 6.2 bWAR
Jason Kendall: .327/.411/.473 (131 OPS+) with 26 sb and 5.6 bWAR while starting 143 games at C
Roberto Alomar: mediocre last season w/Orioles, with Cleveland in '99 hit .323/.422/.533, 24 hr, 120 rbi, 37 sb, 138 runs, and 7.4 bWAR
Sandy Alomar: previous season had hit .324/.354/.545 (128 OPS+) with 21 hr/83 rbi
Todd Hundley: injured much of '98 but coming off of successive seasons of 41hr/112rbi and 30hr/86rbi
David Segui: .305/.359/.487 (119 OPS+), 3.2 bWAR as Mariners' 1B
Bret Boone: 24 homers/95 rbi, three years from his 37 hr/141 rbi/153 OPS+/8.8 bWAR season
Aaron Boone: rookie season with Reds (206 PA, .282/.350/.409), a couple years away from seasons of 26hr/87rbi and 24hr/96rbi
Jose Cruz Jr: second season with Jays, a few years from a 30-30 season
Robb Nen: 40 saves in first season with Giants after closing for World Series Champion Marlins, in midst of seven straight seasons with 35+ saves
Todd Stottlemyre: 14 wins, 204 Ks, 3.1 bWAR

And Cal Ripken Jr was still the)'s starting SS, although he couldn't stay in the lineup (he missed one game---his first since 1982.

Missed a couple other pretty good active sons: Ke'Bryan Hayes (son of Charlie) and Michael Brantley (son of Mickey).

MLBtv ran a video "highlight" of Holliday getting picked between innings this season -- the kid's about half the size of his dad. Possibly dad missed the "you can stop the roids now" memo. Dad looked more excited too.

Must be something with those Rockie outfielders. Bo Bichette is also about half the size of his dad.

Holliday's younger brother Ethan is also a top prospect and already bigger and stronger.

News flash: most people at skinnier at 18 than they are at 48.

Has there ever been a period where there are more good/great ballplayers whose dads were also MLB players?

Expansion plays a role, of course; this is the first decade where the parents' prime had 30 teams.

News flash: most people at skinnier at 18 than they are at 48.

1. Most people aren't elite athletes
2. Matt Holliday was not fat, he appeared to be ripped ... possibly moreso than his playing days. By the standards of the day, Holliday was not particularly big.
3. Dad appeared to be substantially broader across the shoulders which ain't got nothing to do with fat.

But sure, Jackson Holliday will continue to fill out. It wasn't a comment on his future. Currently listed at 6-1, 175 -- 15 pounds lighter and 1 inch taller than Javy Baez, nearly 40 pounds and 1 inch shy of Trevor Story; 40 lbs and 3 inches shy of Corey Seager; 45 lbs and 3 inches shy of Correa; but just 1 inch and 10 lbs shy of Trea Turner. And 3 inches and 65 lbs shy of dad. Apply your own credible intervals to those listed H/Ws.

For all I know, Holliday can generate the exit velocity of 7-5, 87 lb Oneil Cruz. I do though suspect that if we could stand him next to 18-yo Stanton or 18-yo Yordan or 12-yo Vogelbach that I'd still use the "half the size" designation. I'm just saying you might believe dad was an NFL linebacker while you'd advise Jackson not to run routes across the middle.

Go to about the 1:15 mark of this video to see the "highlight" I saw. It of course might be camera angles, etc. I'll agree dad is probably more strong safety size than linebacker size. There are a couple of other photos out there where the difference doesn't seem so stark.

50/50 chance Holliday never sees a day's playing time as an Oriole. Even with the promotion of Gunnar Henderson the organization still has a ludicrous abundance of talented infield prospects in the high minors: Jordan Westburg (.273/.361/.508 at AAA), Joey Ortiz (.346/.400/.567 at AAA), and Connor Norby (.298/.389/.571 at AA and then .359/.405/.718 at AAA). The big league club has Jorge Mateo (2022 Fielding Bible Award as the best defensive shortstop in the majors) and Ramón Urías (2022 Gold Glove at 3rd base) plus Henderson so something's got to give.

The Orioles need starting pitching, and I doubt they'll be paying $40 million a year for DeGrom, or even $30 million for Verlander or Rodon. That leaves trading for top starters, and the first ask from every other team will be Jackson Holliday.

0/50 chance Holliday never sees a day's playing time as an Oriole.

Number one overall draft picks do not get traded. (Traded rarely, mostly after they failed)

Matt Holliday is listed at 6'4, 240 on BB-Ref. Jackson is listed at 6'1, 175. Matt is certainly bigger but Jackson is going to fill out some.

Number one overall draft picks do not get traded. (Traded rarely, mostly after they failed)

Dansby Swanson did.

I'll see your Dansby Swanson and raise you an Adrian Gonzalez.

Granted, who the hell ever knows what the Marlins are doing...or the Diamondbacks either for that matter?

I'll see your Dansby Swanson and raise you an Adrian Gonzalez.

Granted, who the hell ever knows what the Marlins are doing...or the Diamondbacks either for that matter?

To get it out of the way, the following is a list of everyone drafted first overall who made their major league appearance with a team different than drafted them.

Danny Goodwin
Tim Belcher
Shawn Abner
Josh Hamilton
Adrian Gonzalez
Mark Appel
Dansby Swanson

(Belcher and Goodwin didn't sign when they were drafted first overall so doesn't really belong here) (Hamilton we all know about, same with Mark Appel)

So Shawn Abner, Adrian Gonzalez and Swanson are the three first overall picks to be traded.

Phil Nevin made his first MLB appearance with the team who drafted him (the Astros), but was traded to Detroit for a PTBNL after just 18 games. He wasn't exactly a failure and was still a highly ranked prospect when traded, but he couldn't really find a position in the field and also had some clashes with management.