NORTH PORT, Fla. — Growing up in Conway, S.C., Grant Holmes was a baseball card collector, but not the type who goes to card shows and purchases individual cards. He did it like you’re supposed to when you’re a kid.
“Just me and my brother (Colby), just opening up packs from Walmart,” Holmes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Every time we go to Walmart, get a pack of cards, see what we get.”
After a most unlikely and endearing major-league debut last summer, Holmes is now a lock to make the Braves roster and is in competition for a spot in the pitching rotation. And he still buys packs of cards.
Thus far this year, his treasure hunting has unearthed the cards of fellow pitchers Ian Smith-Shawver and Spencer Schwellenbach.
“Those are really only the good ones I’ve gotten, I’ve pulled (out of a pack),” he said.
His plan is to collect all of the pitching staff and then work on the Braves hitters.
If you worried that Holmes, who finally reached the majors last year at the age of 28 after persevering in the minors for 10 seasons, had showed up this spring with an inflated sense of self and diminished gratitude for being able to wear the Braves uniform, the concern is not necessary. At his locker Thursday, Holmes was slipping a mint Chris Sale rookie card (he did buy that one) into a plastic sleeve for the 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner — his teammate — to sign.
“I feel like I belong, but it’s still cool having those feelings (of awe),” Holmes said. “I’m a couple lockers down from a guy (Sale) you played with on ‘MLB the Show’ when you were a kid. That’s still pretty cool, surreal.”
Even better, he’s far more than a novelty or feel-good story. His performance last summer as a reliever and spot starter — 3.56 ERA in 68⅓ innings — gave team brass the confidence to give him a shot at the starting rotation. He is in a competition with Ian Anderson for a spot at the back end of the rotation, a derby that’s gone well so far for Holmes.
In two outings, he has pitched five innings with one earned run allowed (1.80 ERA). He’s given up two hits and walked two with four strikeouts. Wednesday, he had a four-inning assignment in an intrasquad game on a backfield at the Braves complex.
“He’s done well,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s a versatile guy. We’ll see at the end of spring where we need him, but he’s shown he can start. He pitched back end for us, he pitched a lot of bridge innings and did a really good job last year. Spring right now has been good.”
At the team’s suggestion, he has been working on a kick change, a type of change-up with sinking action. Holmes said he began trying it out in August but never threw it in a game. But he said he’s thrown it eight or nine times this spring and it’s felt really good.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty good pitch for me,” Holmes said. “If I’m going to be starting, it’s a great pitch to have just to give them something else to think about.”
It’s promising for Holmes and the Braves, who may really need Holmes to be a dependable starter with Max Fried and Charlie Morton — and their combined 339⅔ innings pitched last season — lost to free agency.
Whether he claims a spot in the rotation — and it looks like he’s got a good shot to do so — he’ll have a meaningful role.
“It’s nice knowing you’re coming in having a plan for yourself,” Holmes said. “It’s been a great spring so far.”
It followed what he called a normal offseason, trying to get better, stronger and more durable. And the offseason, of course, followed a most memorable season.
Drafted in 2014 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Holmes had pitched in 250 minor-league games and thrown 735⅓ innings before finally getting his major-league call-up. Braves fans know the rest — he made his debut on Father’s Day at Truist Park with his father John in the stands and threw three shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. He then became practically indispensable in the Braves’ playoff push while clearly relishing his hard-earned spot.
It was a normal offseason except for one significant difference — that he went into it as a full-fledged major leaguer. He was recognized much more often when he went out in Conway. (His trademark flowing locks helped.) He bought himself a necklace as a reward for making the majors.
“That was really cool, going into the offseason knowing that you finally accomplished your goal,” he said. “I’ve just got to build on that and continue. The saying is that it’s easy to get there but harder to stay, so my goal is just to stay there.”
Before too long, he may well open up a pack of cards and find his own staring back at him.
Said Holmes, “That’d be pretty cool.”
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