The Pittsburgh Pirates have added RHP Clay Holmes to their 40-man roster, bringing the total to 40 players on the current roster (19 pitchers, 4 catchers, 12 infielders and 5 outfielders).
The 23-year old Holmes went 10-9 with a 4.22 ERA (136.1ip/64er) and 101 strikeouts in 26 starts with Double-A Altoona in 2016. He tied for fifth in the organization and also tied for fifth in the Eastern League with his 10 wins, while setting minor league career highs in innings pitched, strikeouts and victories. In addition, Holmes posted the highest ground out/at bat ratio among all full-season pitchers (2.94) and the second-highest in all of minor league baseball behind Anthony Castro of the shortseason Gulf Coast League Tigers West (3.29).
Holmes was Pittsburgh's ninth round selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft and made his professional debut with State Sollege in 2012. He was named to the New York-Penn League All-Star team that season while also posting the lowest ERA (2.28) among all Pirates farmhands.