Colin Holderman has been one of the quiet wins of the Cleveland Guardians’ season, but the last few weeks have raised a real question about how much he’s got left in the tank.
The offseason pickup arrived with almost no buzz after posting a 7.01 ERA in 25.2 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year. Since then, he’s turned into a dependable weapon in the back of Stephen Vogt’s bullpen, putting together a 2.42 ERA over 48.1 innings with 17 walks and 46 strikeouts. That works out to 2.71 strikeouts for every walk, a strong mark for a reliever handling high-leverage innings.
Still, the recent trend hasn’t looked quite as clean. Holderman gave up a couple of earned runs in Friday’s loss, and analyst Justin Lada pointed to the possibility that the grind of August is starting to show.
“I do kind of wonder if the dog days of August are getting to Colin Holderman some. There hasn’t been a real dip in velo, but control has really taken a dive.
12 K% and 10 BB% in the 2nd half. That is not an ideal ratio.
Overall good, but maybe some things to tweak,” he said.
Holderman’s season-long numbers still stand out, and he remains a trusted piece in the bullpen. But there’s a noticeable split between what he did before the break and what he’s done since. Over his last stretch, the right-hander has looked less overpowering and less precise, and that’s a tough combination for any reliever to carry.
Since July 18, Holderman has a 4.15 ERA and a 4.54 FIP. In that same span, he’s issued six walks and recorded just seven strikeouts in 13 innings. The swing is pretty clear: fewer punchouts, looser command, and less of the easy dominance he showed earlier in the year.
A few days off could help. Whether Vogt and the Guardians can actually afford to give him that break right now is another question.
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