Promising prospect Holloway makes spring training debut

WEST PALM BEACH – As he jogged out from bullpen in the fifth inning Thursday, there was a level of anticipation and curiosity as Jordan Holloway took the mound.

A 22-year-old righthander, Holloway is undoubtedly one of the Marlins most intriguing prospects. A 20th-rounder in 2013 out of Arvada, Colo., Holloway’s development was halted in Low-A Greensboro two years ago when he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery. After missing 14 months, he returned late last season, pitching five innings for Batavia.

Despite never playing above Low-A, Miami was so high on Holloway they protected him on the 40-man roster this offseason. Now fully healthy and with a fastball in the high 90s, the Marlins believe he can progress through the farm system quickly and be part of the team’s future.

So when Holloway took the mound against the Astros at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, it gave South Florida its first in-person glimpse of the talented right-hander.

While he got dinged up in his first appearance, it was a key first step for Holloway’s progression, in which he flashed some of the potential that’s made him a highly regarded prospect. The 22-year-old pitched 1 innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits and one walk. On the plus side, Holloway reached 98 on his fastball and induced a number of swings and misses with his heater.

“There’s a lot of positives,” Holloway said. “There’s obviously some stuff I need to work on, but a lot of it was positive. I threw some good fastballs, good curveballs and changeups and [had] good counts. I gave up a couple hard-hit balls, but the outs I got were soft and I tried to execute what I needed to do.

“It was awesome. [The] first time out there was a little rushed, but I’m happy to be back out there and playing healthy.”

Holloway’s parents, Brian and Linda, were also in attendance after flying in from Colorado. The 22-year-old said it was the first time his parents had seen him pitch in person in nearly two years due to the lengthy recovery process

Holloway was facing a lineup of Astros players ator-near the major league level. After retiring the first batter, he gave up a single, followed by an Abraham Toro two-run homer. He finished the rest of the inning unscathed and returned in the sixth. After recording one out, Holloway exited after loading the bases. In relief, Mike Kickham then gave up a two-RBI single, the runs both attributed to Holloway.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said that, for a young pitcher who hasn’t logged extensive innings, being able to throw in a spring-training setting is key in the overall development process.

“To me, it looked like he was trying to attack,” Mattingly said. “Like all our young guys, it’s good to get them out there. Get them moving, get them to experience this. It’s good. He’s going to have that kind of stuff. He’s going to find out guys.

“We talk about all these things in spring training — sequencing, hitting the spots, hitting corners, being able to mix your pitches. It becomes a lot more important when you start to see guys who are the better hitters — and some of the best hitters in the game — that you have to be able to do those things. You really don’t end up out-stuffing guys here as much as you would at different levels.”

After missing the 14 months, returning to the mound has been an exhilarating feeling for Holloway. After pitching the five perfect innings in Batavia last season, he then pitched during instructional league this fall.

Having the opportunity to pitch in big-league camp, Holloway is soaking in every moment of it.

“I think the biggest thing is just getting back, playing baseball,” Holloway said. “I missed 14 months of being able to be with my brothers playing. You miss the clubhouse stuff, you miss all the stuff you’re used. I’ve been playing baseball my whole entire life and you miss being part of a team.

“That’s the biggest thing I’m going to take from this — all the positive feedback from the older guys, the younger guys coming in. We have great veteran leadership and it’s awesome.”

Holloway