Mets Prospect Brad Holt Is Rocketing Through The Minors

An article by Hojo's Mojo    6 Comments

Some great news on the Mets prospects front, courtesy of Adam Rubin,

Mets officials say Brad Holt is on a similar trajectory to Mike Pelfrey. So Holt, the 33rd overall pick in the draft one year ago and the fastest-rising pitching prospect in the organization, was promoted to Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday. He could even make an impact in the major-league rotation if the need still exists late in the season.

His B-Mets debut is slated for Friday.

“I feel like as far as I’ve come along, I’ll be able to pitch at that level,” Holt said in St. Lucie just before learning about the news. “I’m throwing my secondary pitches for strikes. They’ve come a long way. (St. Lucie pitching coach) Phil Regan has picked up where (2008 Brooklyn pitching coach) Hector Berrios left off.

Rated the organization’s No. 4 prospect entering the season, Holt clearly has leapfrogged the Mets’ top upper-level prospects in stature — either because they have underwhelmed, such as Jon Niese, who has an 8.05 ERA at Triple-A Buffalo, or because they have landed on the disabled list, such as Dillon Gee with a shoulder strain.

One scout said this about Holt while observing him last season,

“The guy showed me a plus breaking ball, plus velocity on his fastball [and a] plus curve,” the scout said. “He threw strikes and while the second time the curve wasn’t quite as good, he had the makings of a very good curve. You’re talking two plus pitches – an above average fastball and an above average curve.”

The same scout said this of Holt last August,

“I think he can start next year in (High-A) St. Lucie, and could end up in Double-A, depending on how he’s doing,” the scout said. “It’s not like a reliever, like (Joe) Smith or Kunz, but I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of next year he was in Double-A. And once guys get there, they can move up quick.”

That turned out to be quite prophetic and it only proves how talented Holt really is. I have loved Holt ever since we drafted him almost a year ago. He was a supplemental first round pick that was the end result of Tom Glavine re-signing with the Braves in 2008.

Tony Bernazard, the Mets’ VP for player development, labels 22-year-old righthander Brad Holt the best starting pitching prospect in the organization.

He continues to impress at every level and his fastball is rated the best in the organization by Baseball America.

His strikeout to walk ratio is off the charts and a huge improvement from 2008:

2008:
BB/9 = 4.12
SO/9 = 11.98
SO/BB = 2.91

2009:
BB/9 = 2.31
SO/9 = 11.28
SO/BB = 4.89

What are your thoughts on Holt? Does anyone think there’s a chance we can see him this season?