After going to the DL on May 12 with shoulder fatigue, John Holdzkom is closing in on a return to the Indianapolis bullpen this week.
“[The rehab] is fine,” Holdzkom said. “I hit a snafu because I got a major virus. That is what took me so long. It wasn’t supposed to be this long, but I got really sick.”
Holdzkom was out early and throwing to some hitters on his own team on Saturday, showing that he is really close to facing opposing batters. He echoed this and said that he expects to be back this week. He also said that the bullpen sessions have felt fine, which is another good indicator.
Indianapolis pitching coach Stan Kyles agreed with Holdzkom’s assessment.
“He is close,” Kyles said. “A matter of fact, he asked me today when he is going to get a chance to face some real hitters. He is close and we are looking forward to getting him out there as soon as possible.”
Before being shut down, Holdzkom really struggled in the Indianapolis bullpen. After losing out to a numbers game in Pittsburgh, Holdzkom has returned to some of his past control issues.
In 11.1 innings, he has walked 13 hitters. In addition, his strike ratio is hovering around 55 percent. That is with working almost solely with the fastball.
Not only that, he has been much more hittable in 2015, as the contact has seemed to come more often when he has been in the zone. Holdzkom has allowed 11 hits and has a 5.56 ERA this season.
Only time will tell if some downtime will allow Holdzkom to regain his 2014 form that had him rise from Independent League ball to a September call up.
