What position does Clay Holmes’ 2024 start hold in the early-season bullpen standings?
Clay Holmes is just the most recent in a long list of Yankees relievers from the twenty-first century who have had a successful start to the season. For good cause, Pinstripe Alley has covered Yankee closer Clay Holmes extensively in recent times. Before playing last night, he had the most saves in the league (ten), was third among relievers in the ridiculous 71.4 groundball percentage category, and only Mason Miller of the Oakland Athletics and Hunter Harvey of Washington had more fWAR (0.7) than him. Only three unearned runs have he given up this year, all of which came on April 3rd in extra innings. In a nutshell, he’s been one of the finest pitchers in baseball thus far and is now on an outstanding run.
Naturally, the Yankees have a rich history of having excellent relievers, especially in the twenty-first century. Of the relievers who started the season with the Yanks, just six others have amassed such a stellar 15-game start. Let’s go back in time to some of the best openings of the season among bullpen arms in previous years. Mike Stanton, a 34-year-old who is starting his sixth season in pinstripes, was a key component of the Mariano Rivera bridge that made the Yankees so powerful during the golden period. But his best season was going to be 2001, when he’d set a career high in innings pitched (80) and received his first (and only) All-Star selection.