As he did with Reese Havens and Ike Davis last week, Alex Eisenberg continues his analysis of the draft’s first round, including a glance at Mets supplemental pick Brad Holt, who’s off to a quick start for Brooklyn.

When Holt was drafted, I was really pleased, but I noticed many here were disappointed. Alex does a fantastic job of pointing out what I like about Holt:

The end product is a high-velocity fastball, which is exactly what Holt possesses. Holt’s fastball is very lively, reaching up to 95, and it gets on the batter quick. It seems to pick up an extra gear just before it reaches home plate. My opinion is that he even has some velocity left in the tank, which could be tapped either through mechanics (like getting his hips moving a little earlier toward home plate) or by filling out his projectable frame.

As Alex mentions, he does most of what is necessary in his delivery to create easier velocity. He take a very big stride, he loads his scapula very well (creating a nice slingshot action in his arm), and he rotates his torso. This helps Holt maintain his velocity deep into games and could help him stay relatively healthy despite some hefty work loads in college.

As for his secondary stuff, it’s a concern; otherwise, he’d be a clear top talent. Alex also brings up that his slider has the potential to be a good pitch–it just lacks consistency.

In the video provided, Holt didn’t flash too many sliders, but the pitch has decent late-breaking action. However, the question is whether he can command the pitch and throw it for strikes on a consistent basis. If you watch the side-view clip, you will notice that his glove never firms up before he rotates his shoulders. One benefit of keeping the glove firm out in front of one’s chest is better command of one’s breaking pitch. The release point becomes more consistent, and you don’t have to worry about slowing down to prevent your front shoulder from flying open because the glove firms up beforehand.

This is something Mets coaches are going to have to make a decision on–his glove side. Keeping the glove side firm during the pitcher’s motion will help command, but some scouts, notably Kiley McDaniel, disagree somewhat. By pushing his lead elbow laterally, Holt is able to accelerate his arm faster and squeeze out some additional velocity, which helps reduce stress on his throwing arm. And thus far, the thing that stands out about are his durability and ability to maintain velocity. So coaches are going to have to decide whether to firm up that glove side to help command his slider, or to let it be. It probably is a little overactive, and I would suggest he at least work on toning it down.

Be sure to check out the rest of Alex’s article and his other stuff at Baseball-Intellect.