PITTSBURGH — The up-and-down life between Triple A and the majors was all right-hander Gavin Hollowell knew the previous four years as a not-yet-established reliever.
Hollowell entered the season with 40 career big-league appearances, most of them (26) coming during the 2023 season in the Colorado Rockies organization. The bullpen injuries the Chicago Cubs have endured this year are creating opportunities for relievers such as Hollowell, who is getting an extended opportunity to show what he can do against major-league hitters. A chance to be more than a depth piece.
“I mean, I don’t feel any different out there,” Hollowell told the Tribune. “I’m not reinventing the wheel just yet. Just going out there and pitching and knowing that my defense behind me is unbelievable, and if I could just be in zone and let them do their job, the strikeouts will come and then outs will come from those guys too.”
Hollowell earned this first save with the Cubs in Friday’s 3-2 win in 10 innings. Through 12 appearances, he owns a 2.08 ERA and hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 8 2/3 innings, striking out 10, walking three and allowing just three hits in that span.
“He’s really taken that and kind of run with it, and he’s got some confidence from that,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s improved. His strike throwing has been a key to this stretch here. He’s just throwing more strikes. The stuff has always worked.”
Hollowell’s delivery gives hitters a unique look.
His arm angle, at 10 degrees, is one of the lowest slots among right-handers in the majors this season with only eight pitchers (minimum of 100 pitches thrown) at a lower degree. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy calls Hollowell’s delivery funky, noting the good extension he gets with his 6-foot-7 frame.
“It’s just a unique approach so as long as he’s over the plate, he’s going to be really good,” Hottovy told the Tribune. “And when I say over the plate, you see a low-slot guy you think more east-west, but in reality, it’s more north-south for him. Getting his fastball to the top, his changeup and sinker down and then just striking the sweeper. If he does those things, he’s really difficult.”
Hollowell laughs at mention of his unique mechanics. But the 28-year-old found something something that works for him.
“Everyone out there just says I’m a little different, and, I mean, they’re right, but watching video and stuff, I don’t realize that I’m all the way down there, and it feels normal because I used to throw over the top,” Hollowell said of his arm slot. “Throughout the years, it kind of dropped a little bit, and now I’m finding consistency where I’m at and feel pretty good doing it.”
Cubs releiver Gavin Hollowell delivers against the Pirates in the 10th inning Friday, July 24, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
The addition of a changeup to what had been a three-pitch mix has been a game-changer for Hollowell.
He dabbled throwing a changeup in 2022 with the Rockies, but it wasn’t an effective pitch so he quickly scrapped it. Over the years, Hollowell had been told by people who specialize in pitch development that if he could add an effective changeup to his repertoire he would have a lot of success.
“So for the longest time, I’m like, ‘I’m trying to throw this thing. I can’t figure it out,’” Hollowell recalled.
Then in spring training this year, Hollowell again messed around with different changeup grips while incorporating mental cues from previous coaches, and something clicked with a circle-change grip. The pitch movement from his arm angle gives the illusion of his changeup dropping off a table to left-handers.
Hollowell doesn’t throw the pitch too often, only to lefties, but only two of the 19 he has thrown have been put in play; none have resulted in a hit. Two of his strikeouts this season have come off his changeup.
“Being a former low-slot guy, I feel like the changeup is the pitch that eludes you the most because of how just different grips play off of different arm angles, plus how he releases it,” Hottovy said. “So it was definitely a pitch that he had to kind of like fiddle with for a while and then it just kind of clicked.”
The Cubs are hoping to continue to get healthy in the bullpen in the coming weeks.
The return of closer Daniel Palencia, in particular, would be a huge boost. Palencia is rehabbing at the team’s complex in Arizona and was scheduled to throw a bullpen Saturday. If he continues trending in the right direction, Palencia is on track for a mid-August return. Left-hander Hoby Milner (appendectomy) will throw live batting practice Sunday at High A South Bend, then go on a rehab assignment, setting up the veteran to be back in early August.
Hollowell or even right-hander Tyler Ferguson might see their roles shift as the Cubs get healthy or add a reliever or two before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but it’s valuable experience the organization believes will continue to pay off.
“You’re just trying to figure out the best way to navigate 27 outs, and it’s kind of how we’ve treated it this year,” Counsell said. “They’ve responded to it super well, and credit to the guys down there for doing it.”