Cal Baseball: Grant Holman Adapting to New Role as Reliever at Double-A Midland

Manager Bobby Crosby, the former A's Rookie of the Year, says Holman has the physical tools and the mental makeup to be successful in the pros.

Grant Holman has been a starting pitcher since a decade ago when he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter in the 2013 Little League World Series.

He was 29-1 with a 1.10 earned run average in three seasons as the staff ace for Eastlake High School in San Diego County.

And he was a starter for Cal from 2019 through ’21, at which point the 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander became a sixth-round draft pick of the Oakland A’s. He remained a starter his first two seasons as a professional.

Grant Holman during his Cal days / Photo by Scobel Wiggins

Now, after some elbow issues last season, Holman has been transitioned to a relief pitching role. He performed well enough with the Lansing Lugnuts in High-A ball this spring that he was promoted to the Double-A Midland RockHounds in the Texas League.

"Trying to adapt to the reliever role and ride the ups and downs,” Holman said in a phone interview Wednesday. “To this point I’ve been throwing pretty well and really haven’t had that outing where you get smacked around a little bit.”

RockHounds manager Bobby Crosby, the American League Rookie of the Year for the A’s back in 2004, said Holman had earned the staff’s trust.

“After his first couple (outings) here, he looked so good we decided we’re going to use him in big situations.”

After collecting a save in a 5-4 victory over the San Antonio Missions on Sunday, Holman had a 3.18 ERA with 11 strikeouts and no walks in 5.2 innings over four outings.

Things went a bit sideways for him on Tuesday night. Armed with a 3-1 lead entering the ninth inning, Holman gave up an opposite-field home run to lead off the inning. He walked the next better, and things went awry from there. Two more walks, a couple singles and a misplay in the outfield and suddenly the RockHounds were on the wrong end of a 4-3 decision.

“It looks a lot worse than he pitched,” Crosby said. “Still have full confidence in him — it was just one of those nights.”

Holman, who turns 23 next Wednesday, knows there will be days like this. He’s trying not to let this one consume him.

“It stings when you come in like that and you’re team’s up and you end up getting beat,” he said. “You learn from it and go to the next one.”

The lesson he took away? “The one place I can really improve is (not) walking that next hitter after the homer,” Holman said. “That’s what really allows the inning to get out of control.”

Crosby has only known Holman for a few weeks but says his makeup is well-suited for the assignment.

“He knows he’s good. He knows his stuff is good. He throws strikes, which I like, and he’s confident in his stuff,” Crosby said. “The biggest separation between guys at Double-A and guys in the Big Leagues is very minimal.

“Most of the time it’s between the ears. He has that. He has that little something extra where he knows he’s good and he’s confident. It’s not going faze him one bit.”

Holman said his parents and coaches throughout his career preached keeping his emotions in check, especially when things go awry.

“There’s no sense in getting down on myself and bringing negative energy into the next outing,” he said. “I know I have good stuff. I know I’m good enough to be playing at this level. I’ve just got to trust it.

“If you don’t have control of the emotional side of the game it’ll drive you crazy.”

Holman says his elbow is feeling good. He had some issues last season that required him to get injections over the winter but he did not need surgery.

Even so, the franchise decided moving Holman to the bullpen made sense while his arm recovered. His usage was restricted early in the season, but that’s no longer the case, Holman said.

Whether he remains a relief pitcher or at some point returns to a starting role is uncertain. “I’m not sure he’s definitely locked in. I think that’s where it’s trending to right now,” Crosby said of the bullpen role.

Either way, Crosby sees good days ahead for Holman.

“I’ve been around enough Big Leaguers to see when a guy has it mentally and also physically,” he said. “It’s a matter of him staying healthy and continuing to work hard. I don’t doubt that he’s going to do that.”

Twelve-year-old Grant Holman delivers a pitch at the 2013 Little League World Series / Photo by Matthew O'Haren, USA Today

Holman is living a dream he’s had since helping his Little League team get to Williamsport, where they won the 2013 U.S. championship before losing to Japan in the international title game.

“That was an awesome summer,” he said. “The kind of thing you think about as an 8, 9, 10-year-old kid and having it come to fruition, getting to experience that with your best friends, it was a blast.”

The experience fanned his goal of playing professionally, but also gave him a rare experience as a 12-year-old playing on national television. “It kind of helped me learn at a young age how to pitch when there’s a lot of eyes on you,” Holman said.

There were far fewer people watching April 14 of last season when Holman delivered an “immaculate inning” for Lansing against the West Michigan Whitecaps, striking out three batters on nine pitches.

Even Holman wasn’t sure what he’d done as he got to the dugout. “I had a feeling but I wasn’t really sure,” he said. None of his teammates said a word and his catcher wasn’t sure, either. “It’s kind of funny how it happened,” Holman said.

It won’t always be that easy, as Holman was reminded on Tuesday night. But he’s loving the path he’s on and embraces each day.

“I’m having a blast,” he said. “It’s really hard to complain when you’re getting paid to come to the yard and throw a baseball. Trying to enjoy every second of it. It’s better than any other job I can think of, that’s for sure.”

Cover photo of Grant Holman of the Midland RockHounds by Danne Braden

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo