Bumped after a month, amazing how well the final sentence applies to the most recent Yankee game. You know what they say, those who cannot learn from history are booned to repeat it.
New bullpen acquisition Clay Holmes has some fascinating numbers if you drill down a bit. He is #1 in MLB in % of ground balls from a RHP, also his platoon splits are massive, .471 OPS allowed to RHB (113 PAs), .926 to LHB (76 PAs). Mike Axisa says:
"Holmes is arguably the best ground ball righty in baseball. He does it with a mid-90s two-seamer that runs all over the place. All those ground balls are weak ground balls too. Holmes has limited hitters to an 86.8 mph exit velocity this season, well below the 88.2 mph league average. He also throws a curveball and a slider, though they’re mediocre pitches hitters don’t really chase. That and all the movement on the two-seamer help explain the high walk rate.
With the Pirates, Holmes threw 50/50 fastballs and breaking balls. Might be time to scale back on the curve and slider, and spam hitters with something like 90% two-seamers like Britton. "
That makes a lot of sense on paper, curious to see if that is really the plan and if he can figure out how to get lefties and throw strikes more consistently.