Cal Baseball: Grant Holman and Darren Baker Nab Preseason All-America Honors
With the start of the Cal baseball season just 18 days off, two Golden Bears collected preseason All-America honors on Monday.
Junior Grant Holman was named first-team All-American utility player by Baseball America, which placed second baseman Darren Baker on the third team.
The first team consists of eight position players, five starting pitchers and a utility selection. Holman and UCLA shortstop Matt McLain were the only two Pac-12 players named to the 14-man first team.
The Baseball America Preseason All-America teams are voted on by major league scouting departments based on performance, talent and professional potential.
A 6-foot-6, 232-pound right-hander from Chula Vista, Holman pitched, played first base and designated hitter in all 16 games in the Bears’ 2020 season that was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was 1-3 as a starting pitcher but had a 3.28 earned run average, an 0.97 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and just four walks in 24.2 innings. Opposing hitters batted just .225 against him with no home runs.
Holman also slashed .250/.333/.324 with 10 RBI and one home run at the plate.
Here’s what Baseball America wrote about Holman:
Holman was a two-way star in the 2013 Little League World Series, when he was already 6-foot-4 as a 13-year-old. In two college seasons, Holman has also contributed on both sides. He has managed a 4.21 ERA in a mostly starting role while hitting .264/.348/.414 as a first baseman and DH. Holman has recently gotten his fastball into the upper-90s and likely has better pro upside on the mound instead of the batter’s box.
In his three seasons at Cal, Holman owns a 4.21 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched. At the plate, he goes .264/.414/.348 split with five home runs. Holman is coming off of a strong summer in the San Diego League where he compiled 17 strikeouts to one walk and held opposing batters to a .125 average in nine innings pitched.
Baker, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior from Granite Bay, batted .286 last season and led the Bears with 18 hits an 15 runs in 16 games. A three-year starter, Baker has played 110 games with a career .290 batting average and 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts.
The son of former Giants manager Dusty Baker is regarded as a high-level defensive player after assembling a .982 fielding percentage with just one error in 57 total chances last season.
The Bears open their 2021 season on Friday, Feb. 19 at home against Pacific.
Cal will play five non-conference series against in-state opponents before the start of Pac-12 play. After their four-game set vs. Pacific, the Bears will play series against San Francisco and Saint Mary’s, with two games at home and two on the road in each case.
The Bears will host Loyola Marymount for four games beginning March 12, then close their non-conference schedule with three home games against Cal Baptist, starting on March 19.
On March 26-27-28 the Bears will open Pac-12 play on the road against Utah.
Cal was 5-11 last season, its schedule halted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic just before the Pac-12 opener March 13 against Washington State.
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Cover photo of Grant Holman by Rob Edwards, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo