Greg Holland pitches in relief for the Kansas City Royals. He pitched impressively in his first full season in the majors, striking out 74 in 60 innings pitched while walking just 19 and allowing three home runs. His high K rate led to him allowing a miniscule .175 BA. He also did well in some high leverage situations, allowing a .125 BA with runners in scoring position, and held batters 0 for 9 with the bases loaded, striking out four. In that situation, he did not allow as much as a sacrifice fly as he did not allow an RBI. In 146 plate appearances against him in close and late situations, batters hit just .150/.219/.218. That’s what a team wants from a setup man/closer.

Can Holland repeat this small sample size season? His minor league walk rate was very high. FanGraphs indicates he used his fastball less and his slider more this season. We’ll see if that adjustment continues to work for him, or if batters learn to lay off the slider next year. If he can repeat this performance in 2012, the Royals may have a gem on their hands.