New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes has developed into one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. But all it takes is one look at his sinker, and you’ll see why.
Holmes came over to the Yankees last season from Pittsburgh where he had the reputation of a high-strikeout, high-walk arm out of the bullpen. That’s where you have to give Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake a ton of credit because he recognized that Holmes had an elite sinker and helped the pitcher drastically improve his command and pitch distribution.
The results — 6.3 walks per 9 innings with Pittsburgh turning into 1.2 and a 0.53 ERA — have been phenomenal for Holmes and a nightmare for opposing hitters. We saw exactly that in the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Rays on Wednesday.
Clay Holmes, Insane Sinker Movement. 😳 pic.twitter.com/LN6v2aEXtK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 23, 2022
Holmes pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his 12th save of the season. And his sinker — which topped out at 100.3 mph (lol) — was out-of-this-world unhittable. Just look at this 98 mph sinker that broke away from the left-handed Taylor Walls.
Clay Holmes, Crazy 98mph Sinker Movement (isolated) pic.twitter.com/Pc2lBFlYPK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 23, 2022
What is he even supposed to do with that?
Holmes throws his sinker 80 percent of the time, and hitters still can’t touch the pitch despite knowing it’s coming. Improved command and a high-90s sinker could have Holmes looking at an All-Star selection this season.
MLB fans did not envy anyone who had to face that sinker.