It has taken three seasons, but Brad Holt finally has enjoyed some success in Double-A.
When the right-hander initially was promoted to Binghamton in the summer of 2009, he quickly was turning into one of the brightest prospects in the Mets’ farm system after successful stints with the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2008 and High-A St. Lucie in the first half of ’09.
But a rolled ankle was all it took to send his career off the rails.
“I actually didn’t think it was going to be too bad,” Holt said.
It ended up affecting Holt throughout the rest of the ’09 season, when he went 3-6 with a 6.21 ERA for Binghamton.
But after pitching well in spring training, he went on the disabled list again early last season, and never got his season on track after returning to the mound.
He finished the year 3-14 with a 8.23 ERA in 24 games for St. Lucie and Binghamton.
Holt refused to attribute his struggles last year to any physical problems.
“I seriously doubt it,” he said. “I think it was just bad start after bad start, and just a confidence thing . . . I think it was all mental.”
But after a successful stint in the Arizona Fall League in 2010, when he was 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA in 121⁄3 innings, Holt entered this season prepared to make his third trip to Binghamton with a clean slate.
So far, it’s worked. The 2008 supplemental first-round pick has gone 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 271⁄3 innings across his first five starts. He’s made a strong first impression with his manager, Wally Backman, who thinks Holt has the stuff to be a big league starter.
“He’s pitched really good here,” Backman said. “He’s shown command of three pitches, he’s been able to command his fastball to both sides of the plate. . . . He’s done a real good job here. He has big league stuff.
“He’s got a better than average fastball, an average breaking ball that will be above average in time, and an average changeup, if you’re grading him as a big league guy, so he has everything it takes.”
One thing Backman said the coaching staff in Binghamton has been working on with Holt is holding runners.
“He gets a little slow to the plate sometimes,” Backman said. “That’s the area I see him needing to work on, because I see him as a starting pitcher in the big leagues.”
After his struggles over the past year and a half, Holt is happy to be having success again. But rather than worrying about when he will be getting promoted again, he said his main goal for 2011 is to have a full season of success.
“I mean, right now I want to keep everything simple,” Holt said. “Right now, my focus is just to put together a complete, solid season of pitching, not just trying to move up. I want to have a solid season so I can put [last year] behind me.
“If I get promoted, that’s just a plus in my book.”
tbontemps@nypost.com