Holland Called Up

by Kinslerhomer on Apr 18, 2025 4:24 PM EDT Comment 25 comments

Link Wow, kind of early but he is pitching out of the pen.

Holland purchased from Oklahoma City; Josh Rupe designated for assignment.

Well, I was half-right. After watching Rupe struggle through another poor outing last night, the club decided it would risk losing him. They didn’t call up Thomas Diamond, but instead went to the prized 22-year-old lefty pitching prospect. Holland will pitch out of the bullpen for the time being, but I expect he’ll find his way into the rotation before the All-Star break (unless there is marked improvement in the rotation).

Though he was a non-roster invitee, Holland stayed with the big league team until the end of spring training. He impressed everybody in camp with his pitchability, his stuff and his mature approach to the game. Holland had been scheduled to start tonight for Oklahoma City. His first outing had been kind of rough. He allowed four runs in four innings. I’d like to put the typical disclaimer on here that young kids often struggle in the majors for the first time, but the Rangers do expect big things from Holland, even though he has made just five appearances above Class A. He was a combined 13-1 last year with a 2.27 ERA at Class A Clinton, Class A Bakersfield and Double-A Frisco.

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Read More: Derek Holland (P - TEX), Josh Rupe (P - KAN)

Comments

Nothing like rushing a young talented arm to the bigs

by RandyKutcherHair on Apr 18, 2025 4:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

The Rangers continue to outdo themselves.

by RedSoxFaithful on Apr 18, 2025 5:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

lol

"It doesn't look like he's trying. It kinda pisses me off," "He could throw 110 if he tried. The way it explodes out of his hand is really something special." ~ B-Mac on Feliz.

by Kinslerhomer on Apr 18, 2025 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As you know… IMO, they were stupid with Andrus, they were (and I’m admittedly in the minority here) stupid with Feliz, and for some reason I was literally surprised when I saw that they were going to be stupid with Holland.

I don’t know why Nolan Ryan & Co. continue to surprise me, but they do.

by RedSoxFaithful on Apr 18, 2025 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stupid with feliz?

How? You really think a month or two in AA vs AAA will have any impact whatsoever on his development? Hes doing fine so far.

the preceding post was a great success.

by DSheppard on Apr 18, 2025 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

See this post

here

it is slightly mind-boggling that starting in AAA instead of spending 2 months in AA is a big deal.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Apr 18, 2025 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Andrus

is not setting the league on fire, but he hardly seems to be overwhelmed.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Apr 18, 2025 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

.971 ops, the league is on fire!

granted obviously thats going to plummet.

the preceding post was a great success.

by DSheppard on Apr 18, 2025 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Feliz and Andrus

They weren’t what this post was about, but I’ll address this quickly.

I think we’re already seeing with Feliz why it was a bad idea to move him to AAA. He doesn’t have the control yet, and he can’t pitch even moderately deep into games because of it.

Andrus is doing well, but he also has a BABIP in the .420s. Even if he can maintain the vitals he has now (which I don’t think anybody will argue he can), he currently has the highest K% and lowest BB% of his career. Which I predicted in that thread, and which I think will continue throughout the season. He’ll plummet soon, IMO.

As for Holland, come on. The guy wasn’t a great prospect before last season (those he was a good one), and the majority of people (read: non-Rangers homers) were skeptical of Holland’s sudden rise last season. It’s not like he was dominant in spring training or in two starts at AAA.

It’s not like the team had a specific reason to call up Holland. Rupe sucked. Call up someone with a lower ceiling. Call up Thomas Diamond, if you really want a prospect up. Just don’t call up one of your top SP prospects when a.) he’s a fluke candidate to begin with, and b.) he hasn’t done anything to force himself into a job. It’s stupid.

And in response to Porcello/Holland, huh? Holland isn’t even in the same class as Porcello, and I’m not even a big Porcello fan. Holland’s a great prospect, but I wouldn’t call him a “special talent”…

by RedSoxFaithful on Apr 18, 2025 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They've been more aggressive than I would have been

but I’m not worried about any of these 3. Yes, Andrus’ numbers will come way down, but he is handling himself well, not overmatched in the field or at the plate and will be that much better for it in 2010. There was serious talk of Holland breaking camp with the team. He’ll struggle at times, but like Elvis, be fine.

As for Feliz, he’ll be in Arlington before the year is out, probably in the bullpen after Holland moves into the rotation. Out of the three of them, he’s the least predictable to me, and the one I’d prefer to leave in AAA for quite a while. He does need some work on control, but if he figures it out there’s not really a reason to keep him down there. He could be ready in a month or 18 months, but I really don’t see why you think he should be facing AA guys instead of AAA.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Apr 18, 2025 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

+1

"It doesn't look like he's trying. It kinda pisses me off," "He could throw 110 if he tried. The way it explodes out of his hand is really something special." ~ B-Mac on Feliz.

by Kinslerhomer on Apr 18, 2025 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by slurve on Apr 19, 2025 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Skeptical of Holland?

He was named a top 50 prospect by John as well as BA. You’re right that he wasn’t highly regarded before, but his statistical improvement was explained by a dramatic improvement as a pitcher. We are ultimately dealing with people who can - and do - get better and worse

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Apr 18, 2025 11:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly...

And a sudden dramatic improvement as a pitcher is undoubtedly deserving of skepticism. He was a huge fluke candidate heading into the year, and I don’t see how he’s done anything thus far this year to change that.

by RedSoxFaithful on Apr 19, 2025 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure about that

He’s done nothing but get better since turning pro, and the scouts and organization people who see him every day aren’t expecting him to suddenly turn into a pumpkin.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Apr 19, 2025 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that there's reason for skepticism

But even with that skepticism factored in, many (non-Ranger homer) fans considered him one of the best pitching prospects in the league

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Apr 19, 2025 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reserving judgment partially

Same reason I do with Porcello- Holland is a special talent, and he may succeed. I’m happy the Rangers are breaking him in with bullpen usage, and perhaps he has the ability to do a Santana/Liriano type transition at a younger age. We already know he can handle AA pitching (at least to some degree)- if Texas thinks they can compete, it’s worth a shot.

That being said, if they let him struggle all year in the Bigs, may Nolan Ryan, Ron Washington and Jon Daniels be taken out back and shot.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Apr 18, 2025 6:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If they think he's ready for the majors, then why not let him start?

And if they think he’s only sort-of ready, then isn’t that what AAA is for?

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Apr 18, 2025 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Break him in the same way they did Liriano/Santana

Limit his exposure, keep his innings down, let him build some confidence. It’s not a bad move at all- provided they’re willing to send him down if he implodes.

by demondeaconsbaseball on Apr 18, 2025 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

?

Liriano has only pitched 2 games in his career where he didn’t start. Santana pitched much more from the bullpen, but he’s a very weird case generally. After having a 4.66 ERA in straight A ball, they sent him to a major league bullpen where, startlingly, he didn’t do well. It took a few years before he started pitching well, and another year or two before he got moved to the rotation. I hope the Rangers aren’t planning for the same to happen with Holland

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Apr 19, 2025 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

16 actually

the preceding post was a great success.

by DSheppard on Apr 19, 2025 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're right

I forgot how to read. I apologize

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Apr 19, 2025 3:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

different

I believe Santana was a Rule 5 pick from Houston. The Twins had to keep him on thier roster for 2000 or send him back to the Astros. Liriano dominated AAA pitching in 2005 before his Sept call up that year. He then made the Twins rotation out of ST in 2006.

Elvis Andrus - 2009 AL Rookie of the Year

by RangerMad on Apr 19, 2025 1:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs