When Derek Holland makes his 2010 debut tonight, his major league service time starts piling up once again. If Holland stays in the majors until the end of this season, he has a good chance at becoming a Super Two player after next year. That means he would go to arbitration four times instead of three and would likely make millions more than he otherwise would.
Here's how it breaks down: Holland has 170 days of service time now. He can pile up 145 more days of service time this year if the Rangers keep him in the majors all season. That would leave Holland with 1.143 years of service time after this season. With another full year in the majors, he could have 2.143 years of service time after 2011, which be enough for Super Two status.
Holland's Super Two status depends on two things: the time he spends on the roster this year and the time he spends on it next year. If he doesn't see the minors again, he'll go to arbitration four times. So is he ready for the majors? The stats suggest he is. In 38.2 innings at Triple A, the 23-year-old lefty has a 0.93 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
people pout up way too much attention to these things. First, they have to wait like 3 weeks to keep control for an extra year, then prevent some more weeks for not gaining super two status and saving millions. Afterwards, you can wait till June/July to avoid something I don’t even remember (but I’m certain it exists), heck… might as well wait a full year, and start the cycle again. The Giants (Lincecum) and Braves (Heyward) did the right thing just using their best player at the start at the year, the way it is intended to be.
Actually, Lincecum was a May callup.
geez… last year was kind of a waste having him up… he was very good at times, but he definitely could have used more time in the minors