MMO Exclusive: Hard-Throwing Relief Prospect, Colin Holderman

Spring training means varying things for players each season.

For veterans, it could be as simple as getting as many reps as possible to get ready for an arduous 162-game season. For those coming back from injury, it could be about finding their timing again and getting reacclimated to gameplay.

Then there are minor leaguers who are looking to stand out and make an impact in the brief chances they get during major league spring training.

For Colin Holderman, that’s exactly what he did this year.

The 26-year-old right-handed reliever has appeared in just eleven Double-A games since he was drafted in the ninth round out of Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, in 2016, but Holderman made quite an impression in his six appearances for the Mets in March and early April.

Holderman led all Mets pitchers in strikeouts this spring with 14, good for a whopping 18.9 strikeouts-per-nine. He showcased his velocity in those appearances, hitting 99 mph several times and averaging nearly 98 mph on his sinker among pitches that were tracked with Statcast during spring training.

He compliments his fastballs with a slider that features plenty of vertical movement. Among tracked pitches this spring, Holderman’s slider generated a whiff rate of 62.5% (8 pitches, 5 whiffs).

Standing six-foot-seven and throwing in the upper nineties makes his stuff even more intimidating to batters, all of which stood out to manager Buck Showalter.

“He’s got my attention,” Showalter said during spring training. “Verifying what people have told me about his potential. He’s been good.”

The Illinois native made some mechanical adjustments with former minor league pitching coordinator Ricky Meinhold during the 2020 season, in which Minor League Baseball was canceled due to Covid-19.

One of the main adjustments for Holderman was to utilize his lower half more, and by doing so, saw his low-to-mid nineties fastball increase to near triple digits.

In 2021, Holderman made 15 appearances between St. Lucie and Binghamton for a total of 24 innings, posting career bests in K% (28.4%) and WHIP (1.000). Since his innings workload was on the lighter side due to injury, the Mets assigned Holderman to the Arizona Fall League, where he tacked on another 10.1 innings over 11 games.

Holderman will begin his 2022 season with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets and will be an arm that fans continue to monitor throughout the year.

I had the privilege of speaking with Holderman near the end of spring training, where he talked about why he started focusing on pitching, the mechanical change that aided in his increased velocity, and what his first big league spring training was like.

MMO: Who were some of your favorite players growing up?

Holderman: I’m from Chicago so I love the Cubs. I was a big Sammy Sosa and Alfonso Soriano guy growing up.

I was also a huge David Wright fan, and it was awesome seeing him around the clubhouse a couple of days ago [at spring training]. It was like a dream come true.

MMO: At what point during your development did you start focusing primarily on pitching?

Holderman: Not really until my sophomore year of college. I really didn’t like pitching too much because I enjoyed hitting and I was a pretty good hitter.

I got to that point where I saw my future on the mound and I definitely had way more potential there. I was a good hitter but my potential was on the mound and I knew when the Draft came around that was most likely going to be the option.

Once that happened, I dove fully into pitching mode and tried to learn as much as I possibly could because I didn’t have that much experience.

MMO: What positions did you play other than pitcher?

Holderman: In my sophomore year of college I was playing a lot of third, first, and a little bit of outfield. Pretty much just the corners.

I wasn’t that athletic to play short, second base, or centerfield, but I tried.

MMO: Did you play other sports growing up?

Holderman: I played a lot of basketball and golf, and I played football for three years in high school.

MMO: What are your memories from the 2016 Draft? Were the Mets a team that was on your radar?

Holderman: I honestly had no idea what was going to happen going into the Draft. It was just kind of a cluster and a lot of things happened; just a lot was thrown at me at once.

I was happy someone took a shot and gave me a good amount of money. I was happy to have a job and see if I could prove myself and make the big leagues.

MMO: Just two years into your professional career, you underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2018 season. When did you first realize something was wrong, and what was the process and rehab like for you?

Holderman: The crazy thing was I didn’t feel anything until it exploded; it was one of those weird things. I was just throwing, throwing, and throwing and I had a start, I think it was in West Palm against the Astros on a backfield, and it was against Brian McCann. He was getting at-bats and I reached back 0-2 and tried to throw a heater by him and kaboom, it happened. I knew right away what it was.

I had a day of confusion and then we laid down the plans, had Tommy John surgery which was going to take about a year, and I dove right in and tried to come back not just a better pitcher but a better athlete.

MMO: It must’ve been tough missing not only the 2018 season but also the 2020 year due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of Covid.

Holderman: I got better during that Covid season than any other season I’ve had. I worked a lot with Ricky Meinhold, the [former minor league] pitching coordinator, and we worked on mechanics and I went from throwing 93 to 95, to 98 within a day just by using my legs.

I’m really thankful for that Covid season. [I was] at home working out and just diving deep into what could make me better. I was fortunate to find something that really took me to the next level and have shown it since. I just want to stay healthy and see what happens.

MMO: I read a recent article by Tim Healey of Newsday, who detailed some of the work you did with Meinhold and the Mets’ player development staff that aided in your increased velocity, which included being more efficient in your delivery. That clearly seemed to be a big boost in your development.

Holderman: Yes. It was also being healthy and being able to compound some offseason [work] together and being stronger, you know, more athletic. I wasn’t using my legs on the mound and I was still throwing 93-94 [mph].

I used the legs to see what happens. I thought I was using my legs but I guess not. I was a hitter and they said, “Just pretend you’re hitting and really drive your legs and use your back half.”

I changed in a day and it was amazing! That has really propelled my career.

MMO: It’s incredible what a small mechanical tweak can do. I mean, you increased your velocity by around four to fives miles-per-hour!

Holderman: Yeah, and it’s made everything else better. I was able to get out front, be more directional towards home plate, and it made the slider and changeup better. And obviously the fastball.

It was awesome. You know, not many people make one small change and that happens. I’m extremely fortunate.

MMO: That work seemed to coincide with your strong 2021 season, in which your K% rose over 10 percent from 2019 (17.5% in 2019; 28.4% in 2021), lowered your BB% by two percent (10.4% in 2019; 8.4% in 2021), and increased your swinging-strike rate by over five percent (9.1% in 2019; 14.8% in 2021).

Holderman: Yes. I also think going to the bullpen last year [helped] because I started for the first couple of games in Binghamton and then got hurt. I had a little impingement, it was unfortunate but couldn’t really do anything about that.

I came back in the bullpen and I was able to really just dial in for an inning or two and give it my best stuff. I think that’s been a huge thing.

I threw a lot more sliders, and sliders have been my pitch lately. That’s where I saw the K rate go up and the swinging strike percentage go up.

MMO: Are you more comfortable sticking in the pen?

Holderman: Yes, I really enjoy coming out of the bullpen. I like throwing more often and going out there and just giving it my best and then being ready for the next night or the night after that. I like getting back at it and going after it.

MMO: What was your experience in the Arizona Fall League like in 2021?

Holderman: It was one of my favorite baseball experiences. The talent was crazy! The teammates we had were awesome. Our team was really close-knit and we had a great time.

It was really hard out there and I learned a lot about myself as a pitcher. I think that really helped me coming into this spring training and knowing how to get people out, and to get high-end hitters out. I couldn’t make the mistakes I was doing in Double-A, High-A, and Low-A.

I would advise everyone that can go out there to play, to play.

MMO: And what were your thoughts on the automated strike zone and pitch clock that was deployed during the Arizona Fall League?

Holderman: It was a different experience. The 15 seconds was a little tight and a lot of people couldn’t shake the pitches they wanted; you couldn’t really hold runners.

The automated strike zone was good sometimes and bad others. You kind of didn’t really know what you were getting. We played a lot at Salt River because it was our home park (which is where the Trackman-enforced strike zone was utilized), so we had to deal with that a lot.

We also used a new baseball with, I don’t know what they put on it, some powder, some salt powder? I was not a big fan of it but some other people liked it. I think they’re deploying that in a couple of leagues this year.

MMO: It’ll be interesting to see how guys get used to some of these changes that seemingly appear to be inching closer and closer to the majors.

Holderman:  I’m okay with the pitch clock, just maybe give me a little more time. All of the other stuff, let’s keep baseball, baseball.

MMO: This offseason, the Mets didn’t add you to the 40-man roster, which made you a candidate to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft before it was eventually canceled due to the lockout. Was that something you were paying attention to?

Holderman: I was trying to just do my thing and get prepared for this season as a Met, but if something were to happen I was ready to go and do that. I had plenty of videos from bullpens and all that stuff and gave it to my agency just in case some people asked for it. I don’t really know how that works but just to be prepared.

It would’ve been awesome if that would’ve happened, but at the end of the day, I want to win a World Series and this team looks like it’s definitely lining up to be one of those teams that have a shot this year.

MMO: Was there anything you were looking to work on specifically coming into spring this year?

Holderman: Honestly, to just keep throwing my best pitches more as everyone else does. You want to throw your best stuff more often and that’s kind of what I was trying to be more consistent [with] and just compete and get people out.

And when I get to two strikes put people away and I’ve been doing that so far. I’m extremely fortunate for that and I’ve got to keep it going.

MMO: Buck Showalter heaped high praise on you during spring, talking about your potential and that you have his attention. What’s been your impressions of Showalter?

Holderman: It’s been great and he finds that old and new school and he’s extremely personable. It’s been a great experience for me over the last couple of weeks to see how it operates and I’m extremely comfortable in his system.

I’m extremely happy and looking forward to seeing what happens here in the next couple of months, couple of weeks, couple of days.

MMO: Being in camp with top of the rotation arms in Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, and a host of terrific relief arms must be great to be around. Are you the type of person that regularly seeks out advice from veteran players?

Holderman: No, I’m more of the guy that watches from a distance. I don’t want to step on any toes and I just want to watch and see what they do and keep my mouth shut and ears open. If they’re talking about something, I’m listening.

I’m more about seeing how they operate, I don’t want to get in their way or anything. I kind of feel like I have to earn that a little more.

But it’s been awesome, they’re amazing! They’re the best for a reason and I’m just kind of watching and trying to emulate what they do.

MMO: Every organization utilizes tech and analytics to aid in improving player development and get an edge in any way possible. Are you someone that subscribes to the data and uses it for your own improvement?

Holderman: Yeah, in a way. I think I really got involved in it in the last couple of years and I think that I got too involved in it. I lost my ride on my fastball, lost my sink, and my horizontal and vertical break and I’m trying to take less of that and just compete and combine it a little bit.

I’m trying to use it but not totally dive into it.

MMO: What are your thoughts on Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach?

Holderman: He’s been amazing. It’s been a great experience so far and he’s extremely personable and really cares. And he’s super smart! No complaints at all, it’s been a great experience. I’m excited to work with him more in the future.

MMO: Thanks very much for some time today, Colin. Best of luck this season!

Holderman: Thank you. I appreciate it.

Follow Colin Holderman on Twitter, @ColinHolderman