Red Sox pitching prospect John Holobetz has been named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 13-19, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.
Holobetz was excellent in his last start for Double-A Portland this past Saturday. Going up against Altoona on the road at PNG Field, the 23-year-old right-hander allowed just one earned run on one hit and one walk to go along with a career-high 11 strikeouts over seven strong innings of work.
After retiring the first 13 batters he faced, Holobetz gave up a home run to Titus Dumitru with one out in the fifth to break a scoreless tie. He issued a two-out walk in the same frame, but escaped without allowing any further damage and put up two more zeroes in the sixth and seventh. Because of that solo shot, however, he was ultimately charged with the loss as the Sea Dogs fell to the Curve by a final score of 2-0.
Nonetheless, it was an impressive outing for Holobetz, who threw 74 pitches (54 strikes) and generated 14 whiffs, tied for the third-most at the Double-A level on Saturday. He is now 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 23-to-5 through his first three starts (16 innings) of the 2026 season for Portland. Opponents are batting just .113 against him thus far.
Among 31 qualified Eastern League pitchers in the early going this year, Holobetz ranks second in ERA and strikeout rate (39.7%), third in batting average against, FIP (2.85), line-drive rate (10.3%), and WHIP, fourth in xFIP (3.20), fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.94), seventh in groundball rate (51.7%), 10th in swinging-strike rate (14.2%), 12th in walks per nine innings (2.81), and 15th in walk rate (8.6%), per FanGraphs.
A former fifth-round draft pick of the Brewers out of Old Dominion in 2024, Holobetz was acquired by the Red Sox last May as the player to be named later from the Quinn Priester trade a month prior. The Pennsylvania native spent three months at High-A Greenville before rounding out his first full professional season with Portland. He opened the 2026 campaign ranked as Boston’s No. 14 prospect by all three of Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and SoxProspects.com.
Standing at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Holobetz features a four-pitch mix that consists of a 92-94 mph fastball that tops out at 96-97 mph, an 83-87 mph slider, a 79-82 mph curveball, and an 84-87 mph changeup. As noted in his MLB Pipeline scouting report, Holobetz “uses his athleticism to get down the mound very well, creating extension and a lower release height in addition to significant carry and armside run, making his heater difficult to barrel.”
Given his stellar start to the season, it would not be surprising if Holobetz — who turns 24 in July — emerges as a candidate for a promotion to Triple-A Worcester in the near future. He is not alone in that regard, as left-handers Hayden Mullins and Eduardo Rivera have also opened eyes in Portland this month by piling up strikeouts at an exceptional rate.
(Picture of John Holobetz: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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