Luke Holman signs under slot value with the Cincinnati Reds

Luke Holman’s decision to enter the 2024 MLB Draft was a successful one, being a supplemental second-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds. Beginning his career with Alabama, Holman transferred to LSU for this past season and shine. Cincinnati liked what they saw and used a valuable pick on the right-handed pitcher.

Contract details for Holman have now been revealed, with MLB.com’s Jim Callis reporting the deal. Holman signed for just under $1 million at $997,500. He is under the slot value for the No. 71 overall pick too and the Reds get to save a little bit of money to use on other selections.

“Supplemental 2nd-rder Luke Holman signs w/ @Reds for $997,500 (slot 71 = $1,110,600),” Callis said via X. “@LSUBaseball RHP, high-floor starter who throws strikes with four pitches, best of which is a low-80s slider with depth, fastball sits in the low 90s & tops out at 94 mph.”

Holman pitched 91.2 innings for the Tigers last year, recording an ERA of 2.75 ERA. Opposing batters recorded just 57 hits while striking out 127 times and walking on 33 occasions. As mentioned by Callis, the stuff is pretty good, certainly fooling college hitters.

What MLB Draft analysts are saying about Luke Holman

Holman doesn’t have insane velocity, and scouts actually noticed that his velocity came down a hair during his 2024 season. But with his ERA also dropping considerably, it showed that Holman’s command was getting even better.

Here’s what MLB.com had to say about him as a prospect, ranking him as the No. 45 overall prospect going into the draft:

“Holman’s fastball has dipped a bit in 2024, sitting at 92 mph and topping out at 94, but it plays better than its velocity because he commands it well and rides it at the top of the zone with a quality-induced vertical break. His best pitch is a low-80s slider that he also locates well and features two-plane depth. He also has an upper-70s breaking ball with similar shape and curveball velocity but doesn’t have the same feel for it or a sparsely-used mid-80s changeup with some fade and sink.

“Holman has a high floor as at least a No. 4 starter because he throws consistent strikes with his two main offerings. He already shows aptitude for sequencing his pitches and mixing locations. He has a lean 6-foot-4 frame and more projection remaining than a typical college junior, so his stuff could get better.”

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report