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Colorado Rockies Tab Greg Holland to Lead Talented Bullpen

By Benjamin Chase

Sep 18, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Greg Holland (56) pitches 12th inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Detroit won 5-4 in twelve innings. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Greg Holland (56) pitches 12th inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Detroit won 5-4 in twelve innings. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Greg Holland is coming off a year away from the game, but on Friday the Colorado Rockies named him their 2017 closer.

One of the linchpins for the Kansas City Royals in their rise to relevance in 2014 as the closer, Greg Holland began to experience elbow discomfort during the 2015 season.

When exactly that discomfort began is a point of some debate, but according to MLB Trade Rumors’ report on his eventual Tommy John surgery, manager Ned Yost knew of his elbow discomfort for some time.

The Colorado Rockies signed Holland this offseason after he sat out the entire 2016 season getting himself healthy when the Royals chose not to offer him arbitration in his last season of eligibility.

The Rockies will be gambling that Holland can return to throwing his impressive four-pitch mix from the mound with a fastball that could once touch triple digits, a tremendous slider, a wicked cutter and a split-change that left knees buckled.

That sort of repertoire from the bullpen was a deadly combination, and it allowed Holland to quickly establish himself as one of the truly elite relievers in all of baseball.

He first got a taste of the majors in 2010, but his first full (mostly) season was in 2011, when he pitched in 46 games, throwing 60 innings with a 1.80 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 8.2 percent walk rate and 31.8 percent strikeout rate.

Over the course of the next three seasons, Holland claimed the closer job for the Royals in mid-2012, made two All-Star teams and put up video game-esque stats with 200 games thrown, pitching 196 1/3 innings and saving 109 games with a 1.88 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 9.18 percent walk rate and 36.22 percent strikeout rate.

He was also a star in the Royals’ 2014 playoff run, throwing a total of 11 innings, allowing just a single run and posting a 5/15 BB/K rate.

The Rockies are trusting that they are getting that version of Holland, not the version that showed up in 2015 as he battled elbow discomfort throughout the season, posting a 3.83 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over 44 2/3 innings with a 13.27 percent walk rate a good indication something was up.

However, if Holland needs to be eased back into his role, the Rockies have taken one of their team weaknesses in 2016 and made it a strength. Let’s take a look at who will be backing up Holland a mile high…

Next: The Rest of the Pen

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