John Holdzkom is quickly becoming a household name in the city of Pittsburgh. Though he has only been with the Pirates for less than two weeks, and has a grand total of three appearances over that span, the well-traveled reliever is certainly getting a lot of attention.
With an imposing 6’7 frame, and a fastball clocking in the upper 90s, Holdzkom stands out on the mound. Over his first three appearances, he’s used that overpowering fastball to record six strikeouts and get his first major league save in the Pirates’ 11-inning win over the Cubs this past weekend.
After years of languishing in the minors, and then the Independent League, Holdzkom finally has his chance to prove he can produce at the major-league level. The perseverance of Holdzkom is a story in itself, as is the Pirates hedging their bets in the midst of a pennant race and calling up the one time Mets prospect.
Early returns tell us the Pirates were smart to follow a hunch that this hard-throwing righty who had been thrown in the baseball scrap heap numerous times, might be worth the gamble.
With the team battling for it’s second consecutive playoff birth, and a bullpen that has struggled to hold leads at times this season, the question becomes — can Holdzkom be a key late-inning contributor down the stretch for the Pittsburgh Pirates?
Tony Watson and Mark Melancon have performed well enough over the past two seasons to earn All-Star recognition, and have generally be reliable options in high-leverage situations. However, it’s fair to say that both players could use support, and it’s possible the hard throwing Holdzkom could give manager Clint Hurdle an additional option in the final three frames.
Jared Hughes, with his 6-5 record and 1.95 ERA has been solid, but the case could be made that at the very least, the Pirates could use another right-handed option late in games. John Axford, who was acquired from Cleveland for a bag of balls last month, has shown no indications he can be that option.
Though Justin Wilson gives the Pirates a hard-throwing lefty, his ability to consistently get key outs has been an issue. This once again was the case last night in Philadelphia, where Wilson gave up two key hits and what would be the winning run, while taking loss to the Phillies by a final score of 4-3.
All this leads back to Holdzkom. At this point, with the Pirates bullpen showing chinks in the armor, why not give Holdzkom a chance to show he can be a key late-inning piece down the stretch? Hurdle is known for his love of following hunches and going off of a feel during games, well, this might be his chance to show his intuitions were correct.
It was Holdzkom who struck out the side in his major league debut in St. Louis a week ago.
This is the best time to see what the 26-year-old Holdzkom can do. Let’s see if he can step into pressure situations, with a potential playoff berth in the balance. If he delivers, which I will add, I believe he will, you might have the Pirates future closer.
With Hughes, Watson and Melancon all eligible for arbitration after this season, the Pirates will have some difficult decisions to make with the backend of their bullpen. This is especially the case with Watson and Melancon, who both will command hefty raises during their arbitration years. The frugal Pirates will likely look for value, and this could mean Watson and/or Melancon could be dealt at some point.
That leads you back to Holdzkom. If he can prove to be a viable late-inning option, it’s possible that he and Watson could pair up as a late-inning combo as early as 2015, with one working the set up role and the other, the closer.
It might make sense to get a hard look at Holdzkom now, and see how he responds in high-leverage situations. If he pitches like he has so far, the Pirates might just have themselves a diamond in the rough.
