Things have been tough for the Atlanta Braves this season. However, their starting pitching has been pretty good with a 3.74 ERA, 332.1 innings covered, and the sixth-most strikeouts in baseball at 329. It's been a silver lining in a tumultuous season.
Grant Holmes has been an important part of the rotation as he's continued his impressive performance from 2024. He waited patiently 10 years before pitching on a big league mound and he made the most of it. Holmes produced a 3.56 ERA over 68.1 innings (seven starts) with 15 walks and 70 strikeouts.
He had incredibly high marks in whiff (32.4), chase (35.1), walk (5.3), barrel (6.7), and strikeout (24.8) percentage. It was as good of a first season as he and the Braves could have hoped for.
Holmes has struggled a bit in 2025 but ultimately, he's continued to be a solid option in the backend of Atlanta's rotation. He's started 11 games with a 3.78 ERA over 64.1 innings pitched.
Unfortunately, Holmes has regressed a bit and there's been a decrease in his overall whiff/chase rate. But he's remained above average in strikeouts and groundballs. However, he earned high marks in May for one of his pitches.
Grant Holmes among MLB's best in whiff leaders for the month of May
Holmes was among MLB's best in May when it comes to whiff leaders. He induced 47 whiffs on his slider last month. This was two more than his counterpart Chris Sale and shows how much he's improved that pitch.
Dylan Cease and his slider topped the chart in our Starting Pitcher Whiff Leaders for May pic.twitter.com/22O3paulk9
— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) June 2, 2025
In 2024, opponents batted .258 against his slider with a 41.6% whiff rate and 23.7% putaway rate. This was the pitch Holmes depended on when he needed a strikeout. That has continued this season but it's improved.
So far, opposing hitters are only batting .144 against the slider with a 37.4% whiff rate and 25.4% putaway rate. His spin rate is higher as well. It has improved from 2,736 RPM to 2,836 RPM. 33 of his 64 strikeouts have come via slider, so this is clearly a pitch he has a ton of confidence in.
The main issues he's run into are walks and home runs. Holmes has allowed 11 homers this season and issued 27 walks. He allowed just 7 homers last season and walked 15. However, he pitched 68 innings last season, so he's approaching his career high in innings pitched and will have to make adjustments if he is going to be able to handle the increased workload all season.
If Holmes could work on cutting down the solo home runs and walks, he'd be one of the best pitchers in baseball. Teams have a hard time stringing together multiple hits against him. He's been exactly what you need from a fourth/fifth starter.