Browsing: Holobetz

Growing up as a Yankees fan in Pennsylvania, John Holobetz likely never envisioned himself on the cusp of the major leagues with his chief baseball rival. But after being included as the player to be named later in the Quinn Priester trade that sent Holobetz from the Brewers to the Red Sox on May 5, the 23-year-old righthander immediately showed signs of improvement and is now doing just that.

Today, weâ€ll be taking a deep dive into what makes Holobetz an intriguing name to follow and a potential candidate to be the next breakout Red Sox arm heading into 2026.

Career Background

The son of a former Division I football player, Holobetz committed to Radford out of high school and played one year for the Highlanders in 2022. He worked primarily in relief that season, making 20 appearances (including three starts) and pitching to an unimpressive 5.90 ERA with 34 strikeouts to 17 walks over 39.2 innings.Â

Following his lackluster freshman campaign, Holobetz transferred four hours east to Old Dominion. Over two seasons with the Monarchs, he again worked primarily as a reliever, showing solid command but limited swing-and-miss stuff. As a 21-year-old in 2024, he pitched to a 4.31 ERA with 52 strikeouts against 20 walks in 62.2 innings.

While his collegiate numbers didn’t jump off the page, the Brewers liked many of Holobetz’s fastball traits and saw the untapped potential he had only begun to scratch the surface of as an amateur. Milwaukee ended up selecting Holobetz in the fifth round (156th overall) in the 2024 draft, signing him for $322,500.

Holobetz was shut down following the draft and assigned to Low-A Carolina to begin 2025. A member of one of the most talented teams in the minors, Holobetz made five starts for the now-defunct Mudcats, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA, 31 strikeouts and five walks over 24 innings.Â

Just two days following his final start with the Mudcats, Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox as the final piece of the Priester trade, and it was there the righthander really took off. Assigned directly to High-A Greenville, Holobetz handled the jump to a higher level well, making 12 appearances for 63 innings while striking out 62 batters to 10 walks. He pitched to a 4-2 record and 3.43 ERA, showing improved swing-and-miss stuff and advanced command.Â

The strong performance in Greenville earned Holobetz a promotion to Double-A Portland on August 6. Over the final month of the season, he made six starts for the Sea Dogs, arguably posting the best stretch of his season in the Eastern League, as he pitched to a 2.39 ERA with 27 strikeouts to five walks over 37.2 innings.Â

After one full season as a professional, Holobetz heads into 2026 with upper-minors experience and an opportunity to pitch himself into Boston’s future rotation plans.Â

Pitching Profile

While Holobetz doesnâ€t produce elite strikeout numbers, his early professional success leaves clues as to why he handled the adjustment to starting with little turbulence.

A key factor is that Holobetz fits a pronation-style profile to a tee. Pronation-dominant pitchers generate less spin that supinators while generating more efficient spin. This means Holobetz’s spin contributes more directly to movement across his arsenal.

Speaking of arsenals, Holobetz mixes four pitches in a four-seam fastball, cutter, slider and changeup. His ability to generate ride from a low release height—due to above-average extension and a three-quarters slot—creates outlier plane on his fastball.

Factoring in primary traits on Holobetzâ€s fastball, his heater ranks among the best in the minors. Below is the list of minor league fastballs that reached at least 93 mph with 16-plus inches of ride, 90-plus inches of armside run and a vertical approach angle flatter than -4.2 degrees:

playerorgthrowsveloivbhbvaaBrody HopkinsTBR96.616.610.3-3.95Jeferson VillabonaSDR95.21614.2-4.05Winston SantosTEXR94.217.29.4-4.05Logan HendersonMILR9316.711.3-4.11Carter BaumlerBALR95.318.610.9-4.12Andrew WaltersCLER9618.39.5-4.12Hunter ParsonsNYMR93.316.39.5-4.15Jackson BaumeisterTBR94.117.19.9-4.17John HolobetzBOSR93.617.511.7-4.18

Between Brody Hopkins, Logan Henderson, Andrew Walters and Winston Santos, Holobetz’s inclusion on the list places him among those pitchers with fastballs considered some of the most effective in MiLB.

What makes Holobetz’s fastball play beyond his elite movement and release traits is his advanced feel for his fastball. This season, Holobetz threw 771 fastballs (46% usage) and landed the pitch in the zone 64.7% of the time for a 71.6% strike rate. He knows how to establish the pitch to a level that would even impress Fox broadcaster and noted curmudgeon John Smoltz.

Ultimately, Holobetz’s combination of good fastball traits and advanced command allows him to get by with mediocre secondary stuff. His primary secondary is a mid-80s cutter for which he shows command similarly advanced to his fastball but only elicits mediocre whiff and chase rates.

Holobetz throws a slider nearly as much as his cutter, though its combination of negative induced vertical break and 5-7 inches of sweep gives it more of a deathball curveball look. The pitch is his best bat-missing pitch, as he boasted a 36% whiff rate with it in 2025.

While Holobetzâ€s changeup was billed as his best pitch in our pre-draft report back in 2024, a year-plus later, itâ€s lagging behind his other pitches. He shows good vertical separation off his fastball with the pitch, but his changeup command has been below-average, often resulting in too easy a take for opposing batters.

Backed by a strong fastball, Holobetz enters 2026 with an opportunity to take his prospect stock to the next level. An improved changeup and added velocity across his arsenal could result in him seeing starts with the Red Sox at some point in 2026. Â

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