Pirates Notebook: Colin Holderman putting together All-Star caliber first half
So far this season, watching the Pirates bullpen has been a rollercoaster ride. While they have struggled to meet expectations, one player who has been stellar is Colin Holderman. In his third season with the Pirates, Holderman has been the team's best reliever and one of the best bullpen arms in the National League.
Through 22.2 innings of work, the former ninth-round pick has posted a 0.79 ERA and struck out 27 batters. He has also come through in clutch moments with ten holds and held opponents to a .148 batting average. Regardless of the moment, he has been a difficult matchup and one of manager Derek Shelton's most trusted arms.
Although Holderman has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, he has taken this game to a new level. This season, he has added 19 scoreless outings to his resume and helped keep Pittsburgh in the NL Wildcard race. Due to the Pirates' success this season, Holderman is getting a lot of usage, which he hopes continues.
“ We’ve been winning a lot of ballgames, so the leverage guys have been getting used and can’t complain at all about that,” Holderman told Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pirates reporter Andrew Destin on Monday. “Love being used and going out there to throw. It keeps us fresh, and it keeps us locked in.”
With the All-Star game quickly approaching, Holderman has put himself in the conversation to be in the midsummer classic for the first time in his career. He has limited hard contact and has been among the best high-leverage relievers in the majors. That trend should continue, as he has shown no signs of slowing down this month and held the Dodgers scoreless twice.
Over the last few weeks, Paul Skenes has deservedly gotten a lot of attention, but outside of Pittsburgh, Holderman is flying under the radar. That could change in a few weeks as Holderman has made the best case to be the Pirates representative at Globe Life Field on July 16.
Red Sox Notebook: Alex Cora on trade deadline, Dalbec over Garrett Cooper, Players react to John Henry’s ‘1-in-30’ comment
The MLB trade deadline is just a little under seven weeks away, and the Red Sox are sitting 33-34, one game under .500 and just two games out of the last Wild Card spot for the playoffs. Prior to the start of the series with the Phillies at Fenway Park, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked whether he was confident the front offi…