Miami Marlins Recap: Ben Holmes 2018 Season in Review

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the Miami Marlins system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. This is Part 92 of 286. Stay tuned.

Benjamin Holmes-Wetzler is a 6’1″, 195 lb. left-handed pitcher from Portland, Oregon. Born on September 12th, 1991, he was initially chosen in the 15th round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft by the Cleveland Indians out of Clackamas HS. Instead of signing with them, he elected to attend Oregon State, where he got better in each season as a starter. He went 6-3, 4.66 as a Freshman, 8-2, 3.10 as a Sophomore, and 10-1, 2.25 as a Junior. The Philadelphia Phillies chose him in the fifth round in 2013, but he went back to the Beavers for his senior season.

Holmes posted a 12-1 record and a 0.78 ERA in his final collegiate season, and batters only got 49 hits off him in 104 innings of work, or a .157 average. The Miami Marlins picked him in the ninth round following the season, with the 257th overall choice.

18 percent of players chosen 257th have gone on to play in the majors. The group is led by Brady Anderson (1985, Boston Red Sox, 35.0 career WAR), Vince Coleman (1982, St. Louis Cardinals, 12.5 WAR), and Drew Steckenrider (2012, Miami Marlins, 0.6 WAR). Follow Holmes on Twitter @benwetzler28.

Holmes reported to the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League after signing for a $30,500 bonus. Over 11 starts, he was 0-2 with a 2.95 ERA and 31 K’s in 39 2/3 innings. In 2015, he split the year between the single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League and the high-A Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League. Overall, he went 6-7 in 24 starts with three trips out of the pen, with a 4.55 ERA and 100 whiffs in 128 2/3 innings.

Holmes played the 2016 season again split between the Hammerheads and the Grasshoppers, but appeared mostly in relief to great effect. He went 7-2 with a 1.18 ERA in 91 innings, with 79 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .185. He started in just one of his 35 overall appearances.

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In 2017, Holmes spent the entire season with the Hammerheads, coming out of the bullpen 28 times and making seven starts along the way. Overall, he was 1-6 with a 4.17 ERA and 63 K’s in 73 frames.

Holmes started the 2018 campaign on the disabled list, and was activated on May 29th and sent to Jupiter. After three games, the Miami Marlins promoted him to the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in the Southern League. Holmes got into five games for that team then demoted back to the Hammerheads for a few days before the Marlins released him. He put up a 5.56 ERA in 11 1/3 innings in total, allowing 18 hits and five walks.

Nine days afterward, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Holmes to a free agent deal, and he remains in their system with the Tulsa Drillers in the double-A Texas League.

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