Clay Holmes DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced on Friday that right-hander Clay Holmes will be the team's Opening Day starter this year on March 27 versus the Houston Astros on the road. "He earned it. We like what we're seeing," Mendoza said. As he transitions to a full-time starting role in his first year with the Mets, the Yankees' former closer has made a nice first impression and has been dominant this spring, striking out 13 and walking four in 9 2/3 scoreless Grapefruit League innings. Holmes showed plenty of dominance over the last three years in the Bronx as the Yankees closer as well with 204 total strikeouts and 74 saves in 189 2/3 innings pitched. He's also an extreme ground-ball artist. The two-time All-Star could turn out to be a great investment for the Mets over the course of his three-year deal, but for fantasy purposes, he's a back-end starter, at best, simply because he hasn't topped 100 innings since 2018.

New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes impressed on Sunday, striking out eight batters in 3 2/3 innings of work, allowing zero runs on just one hit and three walks in a 7-6 Grapefruit League win over the Nationals. The righty has yet to allow a run this spring in 11 innings, yielding a total of two hits to go along with a 4:13 BB:K. Fantasy managers shouldn't put too much stock in spring results, but for someone who has worked exclusively as a reliever the last six seasons, the 31-year-old certainly looks the part so far. The veteran pitcher is looking like a value pick at this point, with RotoBaller ranking him at 255 overall, well ahead of his NFBC ADP of 300.

MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports that New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes will start the team's Grapefruit League opener on Saturday against the Houston Astros. Holmes, previously the New York Yankees' closer, signed with the crosstown Mets in the offseason and will make the transition to being a full-time starter in 2025. The 31-year-old former ninth-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 has not started a game since 2018, which means he probably shouldn't be expected to throw more than 120 innings in his first year in Queens. He was a two-time All-Star in his three full seasons in the Bronx and posted a 2.85 ERA (2.84 FIP), a 1.16 WHIP, 74 saves, 204 strikeouts and 65 walks in 189 2/3 relief innings. Holmes is an extreme ground-ball artist and could succeed in his new role, but the fantasy upside here won't be very high in 2025. RotoBaller has Holmes ranked as the No. 88 fantasy starting pitcher.