Jonathan Holder

Position: RHP
Born: 6/9/1993
Height: 6'2
Weight: 235
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft (NYY).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 16 saves in 42 games between Tampa (High A), Trenton (Double-A) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A), striking out 101 while walking seven — no, this is not a typo — and scattering 36 hits over 65 .1 IP. I repeat. No, this is not a typo. These are really his stats.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on September 2.
MLB Debut Date: 9/2/2016

Debut Details
September 2, in an 8-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The fourth of six pitchers on the night, he tossed one perfect inning, striking out one, with 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes. With his team already trailing by the 8-0 final score, Holder came on to start the bottom of the sixth inning and to face the heart of the Orioles’ order in relief of Kirby Yates. The first batter he faced, Adam Jones, struck out on three pitches on a foul tip (keep this three-pitch strikeout in mind when you read his notes). The next batter, Pedro Alvarez, grounded out to second base while the final batter of the inning, Manny Machado, grounded out to shortstop.

Player Notes
First, can we just say that “Holder” is such a perfect name for a relief pitcher? Okay? Good. So now we can move on to the last (maybe ever, at this rate) minor league outing that Holder had before making it to the majors, because it was truly epic: On August 28, in a 3-1 victory over the Rochester Red Wings, he came on in the sixth inning with two on and no one out and pitched the final four innings of the game, allowing one “hit” (more on that in a minute) and striking out 12 (yes, all of his outs came via strikeout) including the first 11 batters he faced. The lone hit came with two outs in the ninth when an infield pop-up dropped due to a miscommunication between fielders. (By the way, the Red Wings had already struck out 10 times against the prior three pitchers, but still …) Holder was already in the mix for the Yankees’ bullpen given his absolutely unreal numbers this season, but we think it’s safe to say that this run made him a lock for a job there and outweighed any possible temptation to maybe keep him in the minors because he would not have been Rule 5 eligible this winter. The fifth member of his 2013 MSU Bulldogs club to be in the majors right now, he brings a fastball, curveball, slider and cutter into his mix. An ace reliever for MSU, he posted an 0.32 ERA as a freshman, reeling off 27-plus scoreless innings to open his collegiate career, and then tied the SEC record for saves as a sophomore with 21, posting a 1.65 ERA. While the Yankees flirted with making him a starter briefly, he returned to his relief role this season. In 2015, he combined at the Gulf Coast League (Rookie), Tampa (High A) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to go 7-6 with a 2.52 ERA in 23 games, 21 of them starts, striking out 90 and walking 25 in 118 innings after starting his pro career between the Gulf Coast League and Staten Island (Short-Season A) over 12 games, eight of them starts, in 2014 with a 3.96 ERA.