The big right-hander from California has been bouncing back and forth between first base and pitcher until this season. Now that Grant Holman has started to concentrate on pitching, he has shown a solid mix of pitches. Although he doesn’t have a ton of experience on the mound, teams will be intrigued by his upside.
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Grant Holman, RHP, California
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 240 lbs.
Age: 21
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
2019: 11 G (9 starts) – 4.82 ERA, 23/11 K/BB rate in 37.1 IP
2020: 4 G – 3.28 ERA, 20/4 K/BB rate in 24.2 IP
2021: 10 G – 3.83 ERA, 46/22 K/BB rate in 47 IP
Scouting Grades
Fastball: 60
Splitter: 50
Curveball: 45
Slider: 55
Control: 45
Overall: 50
Holman hasn’t helped his draft stock as much as he would’ve liked with this season’s performance. Although, teams will be enamored with the upside he offers. He is built for the rotation and if a team can get a little more swing and miss in him, he could be an absolute steal.
Strengths
The fastball is excellent and sits around 93-95 touching 97 mph. He has good command of it and can spot it where he needs to. It also has some life that will allow him to pitch up in the zone. His slider is Holman’s main secondary offering and he throws it with good velocity and can sweep it away from right-handed hitters. The California starter has a solid splitter which he uses as an offspeed pitch. It gets plenty of groundballs and when he throws it at the bottom of the zone effectively off of his heater, there is some serious swing and miss in it.
Holman has a big projectable body at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, which has some scouts thinking starter right away. Although he comes from more of a 3/4 slot, his pitches, especially his splitter and curveball, have solid downward break to them. For someone who hasn’t pitched a ton in college and was splitting time between the field and the mound, Holman has a smooth repeatable delivery for a big man.
Weaknesses
While the delivery and stuff are there, the control is something Holman needs to work on. Larger pitchers tend to lose their mechanics and the big righty is no exception. He will need to work on the feel of his arsenal to be able to locate his secondary pitches. All of his pitches have upside but aside from his fastball and slider, there is definitely work to be done.
Pro Comparison: Jeff Samardzija
There are a lot of similarities here starting with their size. Even aside from that, Shark was a fastball, slider, splitter guy who would regularly sit around 95 with his heater. In his prime, Samardzija induced groundballs at about a 45 percent rate. Holman, if he stays in a rotation, could have the same type of track record with possibly more swing-and-miss upside. The Chicago Cubs’ fifth-round pick in 2006 had a fine career as a full-time starter, The California right-hander could do the same.
Draft Projection: Round 3, Pick 100, Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays can develop pitchers and also have no problem just drafting upside whether the hurler has reliever risk or not. Holman would be a great fit for Tampa Bay. I think after going for a couple of bats in the Supplemental round and the second round, the Rays grab a guy who can pitch and it doesn’t matter if it is in the rotation or out of the bullpen.
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Main Image Credit: https://www.si.com/college/cal/other-sports/cal-ninth-in-preseason-poll
