Ralston Valley grad making mark in baseball

Aberdeen, Maryland –; The minor league baseball season got off to a slow start for Jordan Holloway, 19, the Ralston Valley High graduate who is in the Miami Marlins farm system.

But the right-handed pitcher with the Batavia (New York) Muckdogs is making up for lost time, and here on Aug. 18, just north of Baltimore, he was a member of the North squad in the annual New York-Penn League All-Star game at Ripken Stadium.

Members of the All-Star teams were introduced on the field at Camden Yards in Baltimore before the Orioles beat the Oakland A’s to complete a four-game sweep on Aug. 17. The Orioles tweeted out a photo of some of the New York-Penn League All-Stars.

“It feels amazing, especially being so young. It is definitely an honor,” said Holloway in an interview Aug. 18, noting that several All-Stars were from Division I college programs and were several years older than him.

Holloway, one of the youngest players in the game, pitched the fifth inning for the North and allowed two runs as his team beat the South, 4-2.

He began this season in extended spring training, which means he didn’t start the minor league season in early April with a full-season team. Then he injured his oblique late in extended spring training.

“That set me back a little bit. Being so young I have a lot more to work on,” he said.

Holloway was then sent to low Single-A Greensboro, North Carolina, in June to make two starts. He was 0-1 with an ERA of 7.00 before he was sent to Batavia of the New York-Penn League, where the season began June 19.

“I went up there for two spot starts to keep rolling,” said Holloway, who felt the Marlins wanted him to keep pitching while some other extended spring training players had a week off.

In his first 10 starts with the Batavia he was 3-5 and overall this year is 3-6, 3.72 in 12 starts at two levels with 36 walks and 36 strikeouts. He has not allowed a homer in his minor league career, covering 84 2/3 innings. He was named the Pitcher of the Week in the New York-Penn League on Aug. 3.

“I started off really well and struggled in the middle a little bit,” said Holloway. “We smoothed my mechanics a little bit.”

He was drafted in the 20th round by the Marlins in 2014 and made his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League, where he pitched in 10 games, with six starts, and was 1-3 with an ERA of 6.41.

Holloway said he has benefited from being teammates with older players. One of his catchers from Batavia, Brad Haynal, played at Division I San Diego State. “I think it is cool. Being out of high school you can pick their brains and see their point on things,” he said.

Haynal, who also made the All-Star team, said Holloway has showed improvement in his recent starts.

“He has come a long way. He is one of the youngest guys in the league. His curve is over the top and his changeup is underrated,” Haynal said.

The Arvada product committed to Division I Nebraska-Omaha in high school but would have attended a junior college in Arizona had he not signed with the Marlins.

“Everything kind of went into place. It didn’t matter when I was drafted,” he said of signing with the Marlins.

His fastball hit 97 at the end of extending spring training but normally he throws his fastball around 92 to 94. “I would rather sit at 92 or 94 and hit my spots” than throw harder and be out of the strike zone, he said.

His father, Brian, came to Maryland for the All-Star game, along with a friend of Jordan’s. After the All-Star game, Holloway was headed to Ohio as his Batavia prepared for a road series against Mahoning Valley, a farm team of the Cleveland Indians.

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