He's only had three appearances with the Cubs, two of them coming this season, nevertheless despite the small sample size Gavin Hollowell continues to impress. The right-handed pitcher was called up on Monday to provide an extra arm in the bullpen, taking Shōta Imanaga's roster spot after Imanaga was placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain.
Sometimes you look at relief appearances in lopsided games and you don't make much out of them, but in a season when several Cubs relievers have struggled with throwing strikes it's been refreshing to see Hollowell attack hitters. The right-hander entered in the eighth inning in Monday's series opener against the Giants. It was a low-pressure spot as the Cubs were leading 9-2, but we've seen in the past how frustrating these situations can get if a pitcher struggles with their command.
All of a sudden the manager has to burn one of his high-leverage arms when the game was a blowout to start the inning. Not this time, though.
Hollowell struck out Giants' slugger Heliot Ramos, freezing the right-handed hitter with a 96mph fastball for the first out. The Cubs' righty then retired the next two batters in order and only allowed a single in the ninth inning to wrap up two scoreless innings of work.
Hollowell's previous outing with the Cubs came on April 22, when he pitched two scoreless innings against the Dodgers, keeping the Cubs within striking distance late, which eventually led to an 11-10 win in extra innings.
The 27-year-old pitcher has a minor league option remaining this year, so Hollowell will most likely get shuttled between Chicago and Iowa throughout the 2025 season. Yet, Hollowell is definitely showing why he's deserving of a longer look down the line with these performances.
Hollowell has now pitched 5.1 shutout innings in three combined appearances with the Cubs. He pitched once in 2024. The righty has four strikeouts and no walks, while allowing a total of three hits.
Sure, it's one outing here, one outing there, but it's just nice to see a pitcher come up, throw strikes and get outs regardless of the situation. So far, so good for Hollowell, who appears to be another win for the Cubs' pitching development. Prior to his time with the Cubs, Hollowell recorded a 6.20 ERA in 40.2 innings with the Rockies from 2022-23.
