Mets’ Clay Holmes continues to excel in starting role thanks to kick changeup, other new pitches

New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes notched his third quality start in his last four tries on Friday night, delivering six one-run innings in a win against the Chicago Cubs (box score) — even if he did end up surrendering his first home run of the season.

Holmes, now eight starts deep on the year, has compiled a 2.74 ERA (145 ERA+) and a 2.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio while averaging more than five innings per pop. His contributions this season have already resulted in a higher Wins Above Replacement total than he tallied last year, according to Baseball Reference’s estimates. In other words, his return to a starting rotation for the first time since 2018 has been a success through the first quarter of the season.

Just how has Holmes managed the transition? In part by expanding his arsenal. Whereas he primarily threw three pitches as recently as last season, he’s now sporting a usage rate of 5% or higher on six offerings. The most notable of his additions has been an upper-80s kick changeup that ranks as his second most-used pitch to date. (The kick changeup is a recent innovation that essentially has pitchers combine their changeup grips with a “spiked” finger.)

Holmes’ cambio features roughly the same amount of horizontal break as his signature sinker, but benefits from additional sink and reduced spin. Clearly that’s a winning combination: coming out of Friday’s start, opponents are batting .179 against the changeup with an arsenal-high 37.7% whiff rate. Here’s a look at the pitch in action:

“Adding the changeup has been a huge help,” Holmes said after Friday’s game. “I was able to use it against lefties there. I was able to use it the third time through and get some big outs. That has been a big pitch. Overall, it has gone well. It’s just trusting my pitches in the zone.”

On top of the changeup, Holmes has introduced a cutter and a four-seamer that he uses situationally — the cutter almost exclusively against left-handed batters, and the four-seamer as a pitch he’ll elevate to change eye levels. Those altered looks have allowed him to excel despite seeing his sinker lose more than three miles per hour with the shift to longer outings.

Of course, one of the big questions facing Holmes’ return to starting had to do with workload — specifically, how his body would react to throwing more innings. He’s not far off from sailing into uncharted waters. If Holmes maintains his current cadence, he’ll establish a new single-season career-high in innings thrown at the big-league level in fewer than six starts. Should that remain true, it’ll be interesting to see how he navigates the entire second half as he puts more distance between himself and his typical innings count.

For now, though, the Mets have to be thrilled with how Holmes has worked out. Ditto for the entire rotation. New York’s starting five came into Saturday ranked first in ERA despite not yet having received a single contribution from Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Paul Blackburn, and Christian Scott. That’s an impressive accomplishment, and one that can be owed in part to Holmes and his new-look arsenal.