Photo Credit: Allen Greene Photography

Entering the season, MMN rated Colin Holderman was rated as the 30th best prospect in the New York Mets farm system. In many ways, this was a reflection of how near Major League ready Holderman was as well as his projected ability to be able to help the Mets out of the bullpen as soon as the 2022 season.

Certainly, Holderman was a stand out in Spring Training hitting 100 MPH on the radar gun. He was able to combine this heat with a wipe out slider making his very difficult to hit. He combines that with a firm change making him a three pitch pitcher. He was able to use that to strike out Major League caliber hitters.

Coming out of the draft, Holderman was seen as a starter. However after his Tommy John surgery and the pandemic, he has been moved to the bullpen where he has focused more on his fastball and slider. That has led to very impressive results.

So far this season, Holderman has made seven relief appearances for Triple-A Syracuse. Over 8 and one-third innings, he is 1-0 with two saves, a 2.16 ERA, 0.840 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, and a 6.5 K/9.

While his strikeout numbers are down, there are still some very promising signs. First and foremost, opposing batters are hitting just .133/.212/.333 off of Holderman. A large part of the reason is Holderman has opposing batters driving the ball into the ground. So far, opposing batters have a 68.2 ground ball percentage against Holderman.

What is somewhat interesting is Holderman had a save opportunity in his last two appearances. He seemed to have an extra gear and extra focus striking out three of the 10 batters he faced. As a result, he converted both saved opportunities successfully.

Seeing his success there, it is only a matter of time he forces his way to the majors. On that note, Holderman was Rule 5 eligible this past offseason, and if there was a draft held, he might’ve been selected. Looking forward, it is possible the Mets will have to add him next offseason. Quite possibly, the Mets will need to add him much sooner than that.

The Mets need relief help right now with Trevor May landing on the IL and the Mets bullpen having a 3.94 ERA. Delving deeper, three of the Mets relievers have an ERA over 5.00. You can argue Holderman should be part of this equation in short order.

We have seen Holderman be able to throw in the upper 90s and reach 100 MPH, and he has a very hard to hit slider. His velocity and swing-and-miss ability add a dynamic which is currently missing from the Mets middle relief options. Really, he currently has the repertoire to be part of the Mets bullpen mix, and more to the point, he is having the success you want to see from a pitcher the Mets want to help buttress their current bullpen.