2014 MLB Draft: Grant Holmes, RHP, Conway, SC High School

GRANT HOLMES PROSPECT VIDEO, RHP, CONWAY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 2014 @BIGLEAGUEFUTURE (via Steve Fiorindo)

Holmes is a physically developed 6'2", 190 LB righty without a lot of physical projection remaining. He has an easy delivery with a waist high leg kick and a ¾ delivery. Grant has solid bloodlines as his brother Colby was a 4-year starter at South Carolina and recently signed with the Braves as a non-drafted Free Agent. While Colby was an excellent college pitcher but Grant is in a different class.

His fastball is already impressive sitting 91-94 but can bump it up to 96. His fastball doesn't have a lot of movement but occasionally runs down and in to right handed hitters. His easy delivery and arm slot should allow him to manipulate the ball more with time. It's a great pitch and one of the best fastballs in the draft.

Holmes has an excellent power curveball as well. It's arguably his best pitch and it is a big league average pitch now with the potential to be a plus-plus pitch. It has tight spin and good depth at 82-85 MPH. The velocity will make many say it's a slider but there is very little horizontal movement to it. It's just a hard downer curveball and he delivers it with exceptional skill.

He even offers a solid change that could be above average. Holmes has a lot of polish and has everything he needs to make it a plus pitch as well. It sits in the mid 80's as well and it comes out of the same angle and similar arm speed as his fastball, allowing it to be projected as above average or even better.

Holmes doesn't allow the scout to dream like Toussaint or even Kolek allows but he is more polished and a better bet to reach his ultimate ceiling, even if it just shy of what Kolek's ceiling is and when thinking about it, it may be higher than Toussaint's. He has the potential to have three plus pitches and a high likelihood of having two early in his career. If I were to compare him to a recent draft pick, I'd say he is like Dylan Bundy in the fact that he won't get a lot better than he is now, but he doesn't need to. Holmes may be a #2 in the majors and even allows a little chance to be that ultimate dream of being an ace. If something goes wrong and he attends college, he is committed to Florida, but I don't see how he escapes the first round, even the top ten picks if his velocity stays where it is.