Colin Holderman Bio
Colin Scott Holderman (born October 8, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). A right-handed reliever, he has pitched in the major leagues for the New York Mets, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Cleveland Guardians. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Guardians in December 2025 after being non-tendered by the Pirates.
Holderman has built his career as a hard-throwing bullpen arm, working out of the late innings for his clubs. He is widely recognized for posting an immaculate inning during his time with Pittsburgh, a rare feat in which a pitcher strikes out three batters on nine total pitches in a single frame.
Early Life and Background
Colin Scott Holderman was born on October 8, 1995, in Bradley, Illinois, a small community in Kankakee County. He grew up in the Bradley-Bourbonnais area and attended Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, from which he graduated in 2014. During his youth he was raised alongside an older sister, Taylor, who has Angelman syndrome, a younger brother Casey, and a younger sister Cassidy.
Holderman came from a supportive Midwestern family and found his way into baseball through the local youth and high school programs. His background in central Illinois shaped his workmanlike approach to the game, and his family remained a steady presence as he pursued the sport at higher levels.
Path to Baseball
After high school, Holderman enrolled at Southern Illinois University to play college baseball for the Southern Illinois Salukis. After one year with the program, he transferred to Heartland Community College, where his performance quickly stood out. He was named the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II Baseball Player of the Year, cementing his status as a top amateur prospect.
Following that standout junior college season, Holderman committed to transfer to Mississippi State University. Before he could enroll, however, the New York Mets selected him in the ninth round, 280th overall, of the 2016 MLB draft. Holderman signed with the Mets rather than make the move to Mississippi State, launching his professional career.
Colin Holderman Career
Early Career (2016–2019)
Holderman began his professional career with the Kingsport Mets of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2016. He opened the 2017 season with the Columbia Fireflies of the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he continued to develop his pitch arsenal. His progress was interrupted on April 4, 2018, when he underwent Tommy John surgery, an operation to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, forcing him to miss the entire 2018 season.
He returned to action in 2019, splitting time among the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones, Columbia, and the High-A St. Lucie Mets. Across 16 appearances, 15 of them starts, Holderman posted a 4–2 record with a 3.53 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. He did not appear in a game in 2020 because the minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York Mets (2021–2022)
In 2021, Holderman pitched for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of the Double-A Eastern League, recording a 3.38 ERA and serving as Binghamton’s closer, a relief pitcher responsible for the final outs of close games. After the regular season he was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, where he struggled to an 8.71 ERA across 11 games, and the Mets chose not to add him to their 40-man roster, the list of players a major league team carries in reserve to protect them from being claimed by other teams through the Rule 5 draft, leaving him exposed to selection.
Holderman began the 2022 season with the Syracuse Mets of the Triple-A International League. On May 15, 2022, the Mets promoted him to the major leagues, and he made his MLB debut that afternoon at Citi Field, pitching a scoreless ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners.
Pittsburgh Pirates (2022–2025)
On July 22, 2022, the Mets traded Holderman to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for first baseman Daniel Vogelbach. The Pirates assigned him to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians before promoting him to the majors on August 2. In nine relief appearances for Pittsburgh that season, Holderman posted a 1–0 record and 6.75 ERA with six strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.
On May 4, 2023, Holderman pitched an immaculate inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, striking out Taylor Walls, Luke Raley, and Christian Bethancourt in order on nine pitches. He went on to make 58 appearances out of the bullpen for Pittsburgh in 2023, finishing with an 0–3 record, 3.86 ERA, 58 strikeouts, and two saves over 56 innings. In 2024, he appeared in 55 games, going 3–6 with a 3.16 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings.
Holderman made 24 appearances for the Pirates in 2025, but struggled to an 0–2 record and 7.01 ERA with 18 strikeouts and one save across 25 2/3 innings. On November 18, 2025, Pittsburgh designated him for assignment, a procedural move that removes a player from the team’s 40-man roster and exposes them to other clubs. Three days later, on November 21, the Pirates non-tendered him, declining to offer him a contract for the following season, and he became a free agent.
Cleveland Guardians Era (2025–Present)
On December 11, 2025, Holderman signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cleveland Guardians, giving him a fresh start in a new organization. The contract runs through the 2026 season and reflects a return to the middle-inning reliever, a pitcher who handles the seventh and eighth innings to bridge the gap to the closer, role in which he had previously thrived.
Through the early months of his tenure with Cleveland, Holderman has been deployed primarily out of the bullpen as the Guardians look to stabilize the late innings. The opportunity places him alongside a contending roster and offers a path back to the form he showed during his strong 2023 and 2024 campaigns with Pittsburgh.
Driving Style and Strengths
Holderman works as a power reliever, generating swings and misses with a fastball that sits in the upper nineties, and complementing it with a sharp breaking ball and a developing changeup. He attacks hitters aggressively and shows particular comfort working on short outings, an asset in middle relief. His track record of recovering from elbow reconstruction and returning to mid-nineties velocity underscores his resilience and his ability to handle high-leverage spots, the most important moments of a close game when pressure on the pitcher is greatest.
Notable Events and Milestones
His most celebrated moment came on May 4, 2023, when he recorded an immaculate inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, striking out the side on nine pitches. The feat, which had been recorded only a handful of times in major league history, instantly became the signature highlight of his Pirates tenure and remains a defining milestone of his career.
Colin Holderman Career Wins
Colin Holderman has notched a modest but steady collection of major league victories across his time with the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates, with his most productive stretch coming in 2024 when he earned three of those wins in middle relief. As a reliever, his value has largely been measured in strikeout rate, ERA, and holds, a statistic credited to a relief pitcher who enters a game in a save situation and successfully hands the lead to the next reliever, rather than in win totals.
MLB Highlights
Holderman earned his first major league win in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 1–0 in nine relief appearances that season. In 2024 he posted his first winning record in the big leagues, going 3–6 across 55 appearances for Pittsburgh, and he has continued to handle high-leverage assignments. His first MLB win story begins with a relief appearance in which he held a late lead and watched his offense add enough runs to lock in the decision.
Other Performances
Beyond his MLB resume, Holderman posted strong showings in the minor leagues, including a 4–2 record in 2019 across three levels and a 3.38 ERA as Binghamton’s closer in 2021. He was also named the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II Baseball Player of the Year during his time at Heartland Community College, one of the top individual honors in junior college baseball.
Colin Holderman Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Colin Scott Holderman was raised in Bradley, Illinois, in a close-knit family that includes an older sister, Taylor, who has Angelman syndrome, a younger brother Casey, and a younger sister Cassidy. He has spoken about the influence of his sister’s condition on his outlook, and his family remains a central part of his support system. His path from Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School to professional baseball is rooted in that upbringing.
Holderman married his wife, Casey Spence, in December 2020. In May 2023, the couple announced they were expecting a child, and they welcomed a daughter named Tanner in November 2023. In March 2024, Holderman was hospitalized with a severe case of Influenza A virus, an event that briefly put his early 2024 season in question before he returned to the mound.
2025 Season Performance
Holderman’s 2025 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates was a difficult one, as he posted an 0–2 record and 7.01 ERA with 18 strikeouts and one save across 24 appearances and 25 2/3 innings. The struggles stood in contrast to his strong 2023 and 2024 seasons and led the Pirates to designate him for assignment on November 18, 2025, before non-tendering him three days later.
He quickly found a new home, signing a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cleveland Guardians on December 11, 2025, a fresh opportunity to re-establish himself in a contender’s bullpen. Through the early portion of his Cleveland tenure, Holderman has been working as a middle-inning reliever, looking to recapture the swing-and-miss form he showed with Pittsburgh.
The outlook for Holderman in 2026 is a bounce-back story, with the chance to log holds and chase save opportunities behind the Guardians’ late-inning core. The one-year structure of the deal gives both sides a low-risk platform to evaluate his long-term fit, and a return to his 2023–2024 strikeout rates would put him in line for a larger role in the Cleveland bullpen.
