Yankees Draft Jonathan Holder In Sixth Round of 2014 MLB Draft
Starkville, Miss. – Mississippi State All-American right hander Jonathan Holder was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 17th pick in the sixth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft Friday. Holder, the 182nd overall selection, joins teammate Jacob Lindgren (55th overall) as 2014 Diamond Dawgs drafted by the 27-time world champions.
Holder became 140th MSU baseball player taken in the draft since its inception in 1965. The Gulfport, Miss., native is the seventh Bulldog to be picked by the Yankees. With the hurler’s selection, MSU associate head coach Butch Thompson has now coached and developed 23 MLB draft picks who went undrafted out of high school.
Holder is coming off a junior campaign where he went 7-1 with a 2.22 ERA and a team-best seven saves. The All-American closer is currently the active NCAA leader with a school-record 37 career saves and ranks second among active players with 12.67 career strikeouts per nine innings.
The righty is 11-2 with 191 strikeouts in 81 career relief appearances, owning a 1.59 ERA in 135.2 innings pitched. His ERA drops to a microscopic 0.99 ERA in 36 career games inside the Southeastern Conference.
Fans can follow other Bulldogs likely to be selected in this week’s MLB Draft by searching for “HailStateBB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. All-Access coverage of the program can also be found on FanCred.