5-14-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
It was only a few short years ago that Clay Holmes was a top pitching prospect in the Pirates system. After struggling to find success in Pittsburgh, he has found his niche in New York first as a shutdown reliever for the Yankees and now as one of the best starting pitchers in the NL for the Mets.
Holmes enters the day with a 5-1 record and 2.74 ERA through 42.2 innings pitched. The 6’5 righty most recently subdued the Cubs, holding them to 3 hits – one of which was a solo home run – 3 walks and 5 strikeouts through 6 solid frames of work.
After posting a 2.69 ERA over his 3+ seasons with the Yankees and earning 2 All Star nods, Holmes signed with the Mets the offseason with plans to return to the rotation – which required adding to his pitch arsenal that was essentially sinker/slider out of the bullpen .
While Holmes primarily relies on his low-90s sinker, his addition of a changeup in the high-80s and reversion to including a 2-seam and 4-seam as options has deepened his repertoire and led to the solid start to his season.
Holmes utilizes a sinker and slider/sweeper combo against righties, pitching down and in with the fastball but keeping the breaking ball down and away from bats.
Lefties would face the sinker along with the changeup on the lower outside part of the plate and cutter breaking down and in against opposing hitters.
They will also need to find ways to lift the ball as Holmes enters with a 3% HR/FB rate and 53% ground-ball rate that is among the best in the league.
Although Holmes has fairly consistent splits versus hitters from both sides of the plate, Bucco bats will want to hold to elevated heaters and try to find holes in the defense.
Lefties are hitting .308 against the sinker and .300 against the cutter while righties have a .323 batting average against Holmes’s sinker.
It’s no easy feat for the Bucs but if they can get a couple extra base hits strung together, maybe they won’t suffer another sweep.
Steel City Pirates 