Having not pitched since May 7th, Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle announced Monday that John Holdzkom is experiencing some shoulder fatigue.
John Holdzkom has been shut down due to shoulder fatigue, per Clint Hurdle. "The command has been a challenge." 13 BB in 11.1 IP at Indy.
— Stephen J. Nesbitt (@stephenjnesbitt) May 11, 2015
Hurdle also pointed out something that is apparent: that the command has been an issue since Holdzkom lost out on a numbers game in the Pirates bullpen coming out of Spring Training.
Since joining Triple-A Indianapolis, Holdzkom walked 13 hitters in 11.1 innings, while also allowing 11 hits and seven earned runs. He also hit a batter.
Holdzkom came out of nowhere, going from Independent ball to join the Pirates in September last season. After a strong campaign, he was optioned to Indianapolis after Spring Training, and it has been a struggle since.
The control issues are nothing new for Holdzkom, as he had the same issues leading up to last season. For the season, Holdzkom has thrown 149 strikes to his 112 balls in 12 games. Most of his outings have seen him put up deep pitch counts, as seen by his average of 23 pitches per inning. By comparison, he averaged 13.67 pitches per inning in the majors last season.
Holdzkom has been shut down for the time being, despite no disabled list announcement just yet. Any updates will be reported as they come in.
