Star rookie Holmes earning lofty praise with Chanticleers

If there was a singular breakout moment this season for Coastal Carolina freshman Bobby Holmes, one game where heads turned and fans, teammates and coaches alike could really see the vast potential possessed by the lanky right-hander, it was a Tuesday night in mid-March against Clemson.

Pitching before a capacity crowd at Springs Brooks Stadium, Holmes threw 4 1/3 innings of relief while striking out six and allowing two hits, no walks and one run to earn his first career save in one of several defining wins for the Chanticleers so far this spring.

In the post-game news conference that night, a television reporter asked coach Gary Gilmore about the young reliever while mistaking his last name.

“Bobby Holmes,” Gilmore said, correcting the interviewer. “That name, you’ll learn that name because that young man will be one of the best pitchers that’s ever pitched here.”

That was after Holmes’ 11th collegiate appearance and, well, the rookie hasn’t done anything since to dampen that lofty projection.

Holmes delivered his best outing of the season last Sunday in a 4-2 win at then-No. 9-ranked Florida State, throwing six hitless and scoreless innings of relief to seal yet another marquee win for the Chants. If it was possible, that performance might have heightened the coaches’ optimism for the young pitcher even further.

He was named the Big South Pitcher of the Week a day later and earlier this week Gilmore and pitching coach Drew Thomas made the decision to move Holmes into the weekend rotation. He’s scheduled to make his first start Saturday night at home against Big South rival Liberty while looking to build on his 4-0 record, 1.22 earned-run average and 45-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio (over 44 1/3 innings).

“As much as anything, just his composure on the mound has been outstanding. I haven’t really seen him get flustered all year. Extremely competitive young man,” Gilmore said this week. “What he brings to the table as a pitcher, his stuff is just really, really good. His future here, there’s going to be a lot of people who know who he is before he’s done.”

The funny thing is that when Thomas first stumbled upon Holmes in the recruiting process, he didn’t have the first idea who the tall righty from Athens, Ga., was as he watched him pitch the late game of Coastal Carolina’s 2013 Firecracker Classic summer prospect showcase.

“I didn’t know who he was. He pitched the 9 o’clock game and I wouldn’t say it’s the best outing he’s ever had, but the way he handled it and the way he kept pushing through that outing, his stuff got better as the game went on,” Thomas said. “But just his mound presence and how he handled himself is what caught me the most and that was it. He committed like three days later and there ya go. …

“I didn’t even know he existed. It’s funny how the recruiting world works.”

That was the summer before Holmes’ senior season of high school. It was his first offer and as Thomas said, he wasted no time making a decision.

“I knew right away it was the right choice and I’m glad I made that choice,” he said.

So too are the Chants, of course – perhaps more so than they could have even appreciated at the time.

“Honestly, that happens way more often than you think it does,” Gilmore said. “You go to see one guy and you run into someone else. It’s a credit to coach Thomas and his eye that he saw him and saw the potential in that young man, what was there right then but also what the upside potential is. He’s just beginning to figure out some of the things.”

When Thomas saw Holmes at that showcase tournament nearly two years ago, he was throwing 84-85 miles per hour. He now tops out at 93 with his two-seam fastball and has a slider and cutter to round out his arsenal.

Even back in the fall, though, it would have been hard to project this kind of debut season for Holmes.

“I kind of came into myself this summer, started throwing harder this fall. [But] I didn’t really even have a good fall. I just kind of stuck with the process,” he said. “… And I guess I’ve kind of exceeded everybody’s expectations, including myself.”

In Big South play so far, Holmes is 2-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA over 18 innings.

In his last 13 appearances overall, spanning 31 innings, he’s 3-0 with three saves, a 0.29 ERA, 33 strikeouts, six walks (four came in that otherwise sterling outing at Florida State) and one earned run allowed (six runs totals).

“Coming in I didn’t really know what to expect at all,” he said. “Especially being a freshman, I didn’t know what to expect with opportunities. But I’m a perfectionist kind of guy. I expect to not give up anything, but that’s just me.”

Said junior catcher Casey Schroeder: “He’s got tremendous stuff, and when he comes in he brings a confident presence on the mound and that’s what’s the biggest help for him. He trusts his stuff, he’s confident with it and he’s been great for us.”

On top of what Holmes has already shown, Gilmore believes there is even more velocity to come in the future from the pitcher’s 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame.

That’s part of what fuels the Chants’ limitless excitement for what he might become on the mound in a year or two.

“I think he’s going to be one of the harder throwers [we’ve had] here before it’s over with,” Gilmore said. “He’s not right now as far as guys who have been here in the past, but I think he’s got a chance to be one of the better power arms here and [there’s] just a natural electricity to what his stuff brings to the table.”

And so the Chants will give Holmes a new challenge and move him into a starting role this weekend. It comes in a big spot as Coastal Carolina and Liberty are locked in a three-way tie with Radford atop the Big South standings.

With Holmes, though, it always comes back to his poise and maturity on the mound.

“He has proved that he’s ready to handle that situation,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t say he was ready to lock in that long when we first started the season, but he’s really progressed in that mental capacity that I think he can handle it. …

“He’s not scared of anything.”

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Star rookie Holmes earning lofty praise with Chanticleers."