When the New York Yankees drafted left-handed pitcher Griffin Herring out of LSU in the sixth round of the 2024 MLB Draft, there was some intrigue in what his role would be in the organization.
A reliever in college, he would transition back into a traditional starting role with the Yankees, and he won the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month Award for April after a fast start to the season.
Following some more solid instead of insane starts in May, he would turn it right back on with six no-hit innings in Dunedin with 10 strikeouts and just two walks.
Now sporting a 1.21 ERA with a 33.3% K% through eight starts, Griffin Herring is simply too good for Single-A hitters right now.
Why the Yankees Need to Move Griffin Herring Up to High-A
When you take an SEC pitcher who was utterly dominant in their two years of college ball and throw them in Single-A, you expect strong results, but Griffin Herring has dialed it up to another level.
Herring is second in ERA (1.21) and strikeouts (58) across his eight starts, dominating lineups with a simple three-pitch mix that includes a four-seamer, slider, and changeup.
The fastball doesn’t light up the radar gun, sitting around 90-91 MPH, that plays more like 91-92 thanks to the extension he gets.
In the modern game, you would think that a pitcher throwing that soft would have a firmly below-average fastball, but Herring’s heater has tons of vertical ride that allows him to get whiffs at the top of the zone.
Batters are hitting .182 against that fastball with a .291 SLG%, whiffing 33.9% of the time thanks to the excellent command and movement he gets on that pitch.
He relies on his fastball a lot, throwing it 48.5% of the time despite the slower velocity than most pro pitchers, but it’s an effective pitch that sets up his brilliant secondary pitches.
Griffin Herring’s slider was his signature pitch at LSU, a nasty breaking ball with sharp bullet-like spin that hitters struggle to pick up.
Batters have a 41% Whiff% against that pitch with a .155 average and .207 SLG%, as Herring has elite command of this pitch and can throw it down and in to righties or down and away to lefties.
This slider is one of the best breaking balls in the organization, and it’s a pitch so good that he was only a two-pitch pitcher at LSU and still got drafted in the sixth round of last year’s draft.
A new pitch that he picked up was a changeup, which has been utterly dominant as his tertirary pitch.
Batters have an impossibly low .080 average with zero extra base hits allowed and a 35.8% Whiff%, as it’s great at keeping the ball on the ground and picking up whiffs.
His changeup and fastball have similar horizontal movement while having over 14 inches of vertical separation and 5-6 MPH of velocity separation.
This changeup is one of the best in the organization as well, a truly nasty pitch that Griffin Herring quickly developed a good feel for throughout his first few weeks as a pro pitcher.
It’s a strong three-pitch mix that has room for further additions if needed down the road, but the Yankees need to find a way to move him up to High-A soon.
Single-A has not presented a challenge for the left-hander, and there are some deserving arms in Hudson Valley who could earn a promotion to Double-A soon.
They need to make room in their High-A rotation, and with the way some of their arms are dealing alongside how Griffin Herring is shoving, a promotion should be on the horizon.
Griffin Herring has arguably been the Yankees’ most impressive Minor League pitcher this season, and if these results translate in High-A, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a late-season promotion to Double-A.
His background as a collegiate pitcher, with a National Championship under his belt and a pristine reputation in Baton Rouge, makes him someone who could fly through the Yankees’ organization
