Luke Holman has gone from nearly invisible on the mound to one of the more interesting names in the Arizona Fall League.
That’s quite a shift for a Reds pitching prospect who has barely pitched as a professional. Cincinnati drafted Holman in the second round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft, and he didn’t appear for the organization until the following April, when he was sent to Single-A Daytona.
He made just two starts there before Tommy John surgery ended his season. His next action didn’t come until June 30 of this year, when he began what was basically a rehab assignment in the rookie complex league.
Holman made four starts there, threw 6.2 total innings, and then his season wrapped up without a trip to a full-season affiliate in August or September because of a leg issue.
Now he’s with the Peoria Javelinas, and the early returns have been loud.
Through three appearances in Arizona, the 23-year-old right-hander has worked his way up in workload each time out, going 2.0 innings, then 3.0, then 4.0. In 9.0 innings overall, he has allowed one run, scattered four hits, issued one walk, and struck out 15 of the 32 hitters he’s faced. That works out to a 47% strikeout rate, and the performance has matched the buzz.
Keith Law of The Athletic called Holman the most impressive starter he saw while covering the league. Fangraphs went even further this morning, labeling him “one of the best pitchers in the AFL”. The Fangraphs piece includes David Laurila’s interview with Holman, and there may be material there that catches your eye.
The Arizona Fall League’s pitch data helps explain why Holman is drawing attention. His fastball isn’t riding in with eye-popping velocity, sitting in the 91-94 MPH range and averaging 92.8 MPH so far.
But the movement has stood out. He pairs that heater with a curveball and a slider, and both look like quality pitches.
The curveball grades as the best pitch in the mix and projects as a plus offering. He also throws a splitter less often, and that pitch is currently the weakest of the four, though it still has a chance to become a solid weapon down the line.
There are three weeks left in the Arizona Fall League, plus the possibility of three postseason games after that, so Holman won’t get a huge amount more runway. Even so, he’s done enough to put himself back on the radar after missing most of the last two years.
Carlos Jorge added his own highlight in the Dominican Winter League.
The Reds outfielder made a webgem last night while playing for the Gigantes, one of those catches that used to get replayed on Sportscenter or Baseball Tonight under the old slang. For anyone who missed that era, “webgem” was simply another way of saying highlight.
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