Inside The Mets

Mets' Clay Holmes projected to compete for Cy Young in first year as starter

The New York Mets may have found their ace in newly transitioned starter Clay Holmes, and he has been projected to compete for the National League Cy Young Award this year.

Troy Brock

Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Clover Park.
Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Clover Park. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
In this story:

It is no secret that Clay Holmes has taken the baseball world by storm this spring in his first year with the New York Mets.

What may come as a surprise, however, is just how soon he can become one of the best starting pitchers in the National League.

In a recent ESPN+ article, David Schoenfield simulated the 2025 season 25 times using Out of the Park Baseball, a world-class baseball simulation video game. For Holmes, the simulation saw the pitcher post a 2.29 ERA and 5.3 WAR.

For context, Chris Sale won the National League Cy Young Award in 2024. While he did that thanks in large part to winning the NL Triple Crown, one portion of that was his 2.38 ERA. In the other league, Tarik Skubal won the American League Triple Crown with a 2.39 ERA. As such, a 2.29 ERA would be a phenomenal mark for any pitcher and would put them firmly in contention for a Cy Young Award.

Holmes was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 out of high school. After four years with the franchise and a poor showing on the field, the pitcher was traded to the New York Yankees in 2021; it would prove to be a career renaissance, seeing Holmes post a 2.69 ERA across four years in the Bronx, but as a reliever.

The Mets signed the veteran this past offseason, with every intention of making Holmes a starter. With five starts under his belt in spring training, the transition looks to be successful, as the pitcher posted a 0.93 ERA across 19.1 innings with 23 strikeouts while only allowing seven hits.

Read more: New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes assess move to starting

The hype train has been rolling down the tracks for Holmes, who has even been given the nod as the Opening Day starter for New York's matchup against the Houston Astros.

It has been a fantastic spring training for the pitcher. The transition from reliever to starter has seen no hiccups, to this point, and looks to be a rousing success. While it remains to be seen if he can keep that success going across a full season's workload and against MLB-caliber batters consistently, the potential is certainly there.

Should Holmes in fact win a Cy Young Award this year, it would go a long way toward propelling the Mets deeper into the playoff hunt. Most importantly, it would elevate both the pitching staff and the team as a whole, especially with the numerous injuries to the starting rotation this spring.

Recommended Articles:

Published
Troy Brock
TROY BROCK

Troy Brock is an up and comer in the sports journalism landscape. After starting on Medium, he quickly made his way to online publications Last Word on Sports and Athlon before bringing his work to the esteemed Sports Illustrated. You can find Troy on Twitter/X @TroyBBaseball

Home/News