The RailRiders clinched an International League playoff berth behind New York Yankees prospect Jonathan Holder’s incredible performance. He struck out 12 of the 13 hitters he faced through 4 innings.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fans got to see quite the show the other night. New York Yankees pitching prospect, Jonathan Holder, struck out 12 of the 13 hitters he faced including a streak of 11 in a row. He pitched 4 innings of relief for the RailRiders as they clinched an International League playoff berth after beating Rochester 3-1.
Holder entered the game in place of Tyler Webb with runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. Subsequently, he struck out the next three batters to keep the RailRiders up 3 to 1.
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The 23-year-old pitcher faced a number of the Twins’ top 20 prospects but his biggest hurdle came in the 9th inning. Holder allowed a base hit and Byron Buxton was at the plate for the tying run. Buxton has been highly regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball for the past couple of years. He also was entering this game after hitting a home run in each of his previous four. Despite that, the result was the same as it had been all game: strikeout.
Holder has 42 appearances this season through various levels of minor league ball. In those 42 appearances, he has posted a 2.50 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Furthermore, he has 225 strikeouts in 219.2 innings while only issuing 45 walks.
According to an interview with The Trentonian, Holder is extremely comfortable as a closer. “I thrive off the moments like that…It’s the same situations I’ve been in before,” Holder said. “It’s just really different atmospheres here and at college.”
Look for him to remain a bullpen piece. He could end up a major league closer considering he has 16 saves on 17 opportunities this year. Being a closer isn’t new for the young pitcher. At Mississippi State, Holder owns the single season saves record (21) and the all-time saves record (37).
If Holder can continue that mature approach, he will surely blossom into something great at the major league level. The Yankees must be ecstactic with Holder’s performance thus far and the idea of pairing him with Dellin Betances at the end of games for years to come sounds pretty nice.
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As the Yankees rebuild and continue their youth movement, Jonathan Holder is a name to remember. The young pitcher has excelled through every minor league stop and this last outing shows he may be ready for the next level. Other Yankees’ prospects have been quite successful in the transition to the bigs and Holder could be the one.