When the Yankees used their sixth-round pick on LSU left-hander Griffin Herring, they were getting a pitcher who had some flexibility in his decision to sign or go back to college. A draft-eligible sophomore, Herring was looking for the right amount of bonus money alongside the right organization to develop with in order to forgo another season at LSU, where he would have certainly had a big role in their title hopes.
Competing alongside the likes of Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, Herring won a National Championship in 2023 and led his team in ERA in 2024 during his two years at Baton Rouge, but the Yankees presented him with an opportunity he wasn’t turning down. Now a starter at the pro level, Griffin Herring has been dominant with the Tampa Tarpons in Single-A, and he could be due for a swift promotion to High-A with the Hudson Valley Renegades soon.
Griffin Herring Quickly Becoming One of the Yankees’ Best Prospects
The Yankees have a strong reputation for developing pitchers, and it’s a huge reason why Griffin Herring was eager to sign with the organization when they selected him. A beloved reliever at LSU, many fans were both excited for what he could become as a pro and saddened to see their star southpaw depart a roster that’s constantly in contention for the College World Series.
In his two years as a Tiger, Herring was a fastball-slider pitcher who worked as a multi-inning reliever, providing value to their pitching staff despite not being a traditional starter. His two-pitch mix was highly effective, but in order to have success as a starter at the professional level, you need more than that to compete. Griffin Herring would work on a kick changeup as a result, a pitch that has quickly become one of the best off-speed pitches in the Yankees’ organization.
Batters have a 39% Whiff Rate against that brand-new changeup, as it generates tons of vertical drop that makes for a deceptive secondary pitch. It can get between 13-14 inches of vertical separation off of his four-seam fastball, which averages between 18-19 inches of IVB. A nasty combination of pitches that can work at the top and bottom of the zone, they serve an important role in his repertoire as they change the eye levels of right-handed batters.
Griffin Herring’s best pitch is still his slider, a gyro slider that has a 43.5% Whiff% through his five starts of the season, and has tight spin that works against left-handed and right-handed batters.
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Don’t let the reliever background fool you; LSU will often throw some of their top pitchers in bullpen roles to serve as firemen who can get them out of big jams. The Tigers knew that Herring was a capable starter, but believed they would win more games utilizing him in this role, and their National Championship in 2023 vindicates that claim. Herring will be tested as he adjusts to a starter schedule and the increased workload of pro ball, but his background as a starter in high school should allow him to handle it.
When I spoke to him earlier this season and referenced his first two outings of the season, where he struck out 13 batters across 10.1 scoreless innings, he was quick to retort with what he felt he could have done better. He was brutally honest about the stress that came with the draft process, weighing the decision to go back to college or begin his pro journey, but despite those statements, you never got the sense that he doubted his own abilities. Herring is fully aware that he throws 90-92 MPH in a league that is centered around velocity, but he trusts that he can overwhelm hitters.
His pitch shapes are elite, and he gets tons of extension due to his long limbs, and if he can add a tick of velocity to his fastball at some point during his Minor League career, he could be an excellent starter. While I didn’t rank him in my top 10 update earlier today, he did experience one of the largest leaps for any prospect on my top 30 as he went from the #27 prospect entering the season to climbing inside my top 15. The pitchability is excellent, his feel for the three pitches in his arsenal is advanced for a 21-year-old, and his swing-and-miss rates are truly insane.
Griffin Herring leads all qualified pitchers in ERA (0.60) at the Single-A level with the second-most strikeouts (39), and with Hudson Valley having a cluster of pitchers that could get a promotion to Double-A soon, a spot could open up for an early-season promotion for a stellar left-hander.