Prospects bond through recovery
Garrett, Holloway became roommates upon learning they both needed surgery
JUPITER — Jordan Holloway was sitting in Charlotte-Douglas International Airport when he pulled out his phone and texted Braxton Garrett.
“Do you need a roommate?”
The Miami Marlins pitching prospect just learned he would be sidelined for over a year after injuring his throwing elbow in Low-A Greensboro, requiring Tommy John surgery to fix his ulnar collateral ligament. Knowing his foreseeable future would be spent rehabbing at the Marlins’ Jupiter training facility and that he needed somewhere to stay, Holloway realized he wasn’t alone in his plight.
Just two weeks prior, Garrett — another top Marlins pitching prospect — also hurt his elbow in Greensboro and was preparing for the same surgery.
“I [told Garrett], ‘Yeah, I hurt my elbow too,’ ” Holloway recalled. “He was like ‘That really sucks, but I’m not necessarily mad that you’re going to be my roommate.”
With one text, June 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a bond that would help lead them both back to baseball.
Different upbringings
While the duo share matching four-inch scars on their throwing elbows, Garrett and Holloway arrived in the Marlins organization with vastly different profiles.
A highly-touted left-hander, Garrett, 21, was born and raised in Alabama — although he’s quick to point out he doesn’t consider himself a Southern boy. “I don’t hunt. I don’t fish.” He did, however, dazzle high school opponents with his wicked curveball
and low-90’s fastball, earning a reputation as one of the nation’s top prep pitchers. Impressed by his skill set, the Marlins selected Garrett with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Two years prior and over 1,200 miles west, Holloway, 22, was a less-heralded high school prospect, playing in the Denver suburb of Arvada, Colorado. In the 2014 draft, the 6-foot-4 righthander watched 586 players go off the board before Miami pickd him in the 20th round.
As they matriculated their way through the organization, their paths briefly crossed in Greensboro for two weeks in May of 2017 before elbow issues sent them packing for South Florida.
The downtime — ‘We pretty much got addicted to [Fortnite]’
Over the past 40 years, Tommy John surgery has become a game-changer for baseball. First performed in 1974 by Dr. Frank Jobe on Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, the revolutionary procedure has saved thousands of throwing arms from career-ending elbow injuries.
Holloway went under the knife on June 15, 2017, while Garrett followed five days later.
The trade-off is the surgery entails a lengthy recovery process — usually lasting a minimum of 14 months. After settling into their Jupiter apartment — a short walk from the team’s training facility — the duo began their rehabilitation.
The early stages of recovery are tedious. For the first 10 days, you’re saddled with a full cast on your arm, which then leads to a ‘robotic brace.’ A throwing regime doesn’t begin until five months later, meaning there’s suddenly a surplus of downtime.
“I play a lot of video games,” Holloway said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal to have a reason to sit down and play video games for a long extended time. … Me and Braxton pretty much got addicted to [Fortnite]. It makes me pretty angry that I love it so much.”
“I don’t watch a lot of TV. It gets stale to me. I feel like that’s such a 22 year old thing to say.”
While Garrett would play Fortnite and various Call of Duty games, part of his recovery was spent watching “The Office” repeatedly on Netflix — especially right after the surgery.
“I’ve seen every episode at least five times,” Garrett said. “Ask me anything, I think I could quote it.”
Between video games, Netflix, walking around the mall or lounging by the pool, the early stages of rehab were frequently spent trying to avoid boredom as they slowly inched their way back.
‘Misery loves company’
For any high-level athlete used to a specific routine, being forced off the field for an extended period of time can be a radical and isolating shift. That feeling is only amplified in the uber-competitive environment of professional baseball — where thousands of minor league prospects battle for the chance to reach the majors.
Behind unable to compete, the thought of missing time can be overwhelming, leading many to unplug from the daily updates of the minor league season.
“When my buddies did well I knew about it, but I wasn’t out there looking for it,” Garrett said. “I didn’t open the [minor league baseball] app one time the whole season. I was a little bitter.”
“[It’s easy] to get jealous and bitter,” Holloway chimed in.
“Not bitter at anyone,” Garrett added. “I’m just like ‘Dang.’
While the 14-month rehab can be mentally draining, Holloway and Garrett did have one advantage — each other. Living together and being on virtually identical recovery timelines, they could push each other and provide a soundboard for any concerns or questions about their arms.
“It was like ‘Does that hurt’ and I was like, ‘Yeah it doesn’t feel good today,’ ” Holloway said. “And they’re like ‘OK.’ That second thought, that maybe you’re not hurt and you’re OK. You don’t want to get hurt again and you’re always worried about things. It’s definitely nice to have somebody help you when you’re having a bad day and make your good days better.”
Rehabbing at Jupiter’s Cressey Sports Performance, co-founder and manual therapist Shane Rye has worked with the duo throughout the process and says their bond has proved vital in their recovery.
“Misery in some respects loves company,” said Rye, who also works with top MLB pitchers Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard and Corey Kluber. “Those two have been very good for each other. If one’s up and the other’s down, then there’s always somebody who’s kind of on-theup.
“They’re able to pull each other through some crappy times and going through Tommy John — it’s so long. You question, ‘Will I get back to where I was? Will I get my stuff back?’ Especially in those first couple months where you’re allowed to start throwing.”
Like many players going through recovery from Tommy John, the duo experienced setbacks along the way. During 2018 spring training, Garrett was shut down for six weeks after experiencing pain in his elbow. Garrett, who said he’d never been seriously injured before the surgery, immediately thought the worst.
“I thought I re-tore my elbow,” Garrett said. “But I finally got an MRI and it was just a flexor strain. So you could imagine what was going through my head trying to sleep at night, thinking I re-tore my elbow. It was tough. But Jordan ... helped a lot.”
Holloway finally returned to the mound in July, pitching for Batavia — the Marlins short-season A affiliate. His comeback was temporarily put on hold after partially tearing his shoulder on a “freak play,” setting him back a few weeks. He finished the year in Batavia, pitching five perfect innings across two starts.
Full strength again
While Garrett didn’t pitch this past minor league season, he was back at full strength for instructional league in September, joining Holloway and the Marlins top young prospects.
‘I wasn’t convinced I was healthy until I didn’t have to come back to the [Marlins] facility, which was after instructional league,” Garrett said. “It’s just how it went for me. I never believed I was healthy until they were like, ‘OK, you’re good. You don’t have to come back.”
“My arm feels spectacular now.”
Fully recovered, the future is brimming with potential for the two pitchers. Despite the injury, Garrett still ranks as the team’s No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline, while Holloway was added to the Marlins’ 40-man roster this offseason.
While rosters haven’t been finalized for the upcoming season, Low-A Clinton would make sense as a possible starting-off point for both prospects.
After seeing their progression, Marlins vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo is optimistic about their potential with the franchise.
“We feel like both of those players have the chance to come back — now healthy and ready to compete — and move their value up,” Denbo said.
“[They] have a chance I think to move quickly through the organization.”