Grant Holmes Picks Up First Career Win, Pitches Gem When Atlanta Braves Needed It

Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Holmes had a long road to the Majors. He picked up his first win when the Braves needed him most.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes picked up his first win in the 13-2 Giants blowout. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves picked up a series win against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night. Michael Harris || stole the show with his grand slam on his first at-bat back in the lineup. However, lost in the fireworks, starting pitcher Grant Holmes took the mound for the Braves and had the best outing yet of his rookie season to earn his first career win. 

A night to remember.

Win No. 1 for Grant Holmes. 👏 pic.twitter.com/na3Q8XWTkc

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 15, 2024

Holmes pitched seven innings of two-run ball while allowing eight hits, one of which was a home run, walking one and striking out six. He threw 68 of his 95 pitches for strikes (71.5%). 

A strong outing very worthy of a first-career win. 

“It’s crazy. It’s like a dream come true,” Holmes said following the game. “I was thinking last night the last time I threw seven innings was in 2017. It was pretty cool to do that on the big-league stage.”

The 28-year-old rookie is still taking in every moment of being in the Major Leagues. 

“I’m just thankful for each day I get, and just taking it one day at a time.” 

It’s understandable after a decade in the Minor Leagues. Holmes was drafted out of high school by the Dodgers with the 22nd overall pick in 2014. Expectations were high quickly. In 2015, Holmes was the fourth-ranked prospect in the Dodgers system. He was right behind soon-to-be MLB stars Corey Seager (No. 1) and Joc Pederson (No. 3) and was ranked much higher than the 2019 National League MVP Cody Bellinger (No. 21). 

But his move up the minor league ladder stalled. He was traded to the Oakland Athletic and was their third-ranked prospect in 2017. Then he dropped to 10th in 2018. Then he was 12th the year after.

He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2019. By this point, he’s still only 23 with a future ahead of him. Then COVID hits. He loses an entire season. Then, he struggled in the following two years in Triple-A, and the A’s released him. 

The Braves signed him to a minor league contract in August 2022 and he stayed on the next year with the Stripers. He became a full-time reliever and excelled.

After having a 3.17 ERA over 68 Triple-A appearances between 2023 and 2024, Holmes finally got the call. In 14 games, four of them starts, he had a 3.60 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and 47 strikeouts across 45 innings pitched. 

Those 13 games resulted in no decisions. But on Wednesday, Aug. 14, the win finally came. 

Holmes certainly earned the opportunity to keep pitching in the Braves rotation. Maybe a playoff start is in his future should he continue to progress. But that’s for then. For now, he can just enjoy that after all the adversity, he finally got that call-up and the win.