Griffin Herring has hit the ground running since the Yankees used their 6th Round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft to select him out of LSU, as through five starts, he’s allowed just two runs for a 0.60 ERA. The left-hander was promptly awarded the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month Award for April, and this hot start has put him on the prospect map almost immediately.
An excellent reliever at LSU, he’s become a full-time starter at the professional level, pitching deep into games routinely while racking up strikeouts. He doesn’t light up the radar gun, but his three-pitch mix has excellent movement and has led to a marvelous start to his professional career.
Griffin Herring Earns Pitcher of the Month Honors, Yankees Have a Blossoming Prospect
The start to the 2025 season has been better than anyone could have anticipated for Griffin Herring, as the left-hander has struck out 32.8% of batters faced with a 0.60 ERA. A crafty left-hander who pounds the zone early in counts to set up a chase out of the zone, Herring has a three-pitch mix that has carved through Single-A offenses. His fastball rarely surpasses 92 MPH on the radar gun, but the excellent shape and extension allow it to be a quality offering.
His four-seamer sits around 90.5 MPH with 7 feet of extension and 18 inches of vertical ride, which makes it roughly a league-average pitch. Herring commands his fastball well, attacking the top of the zone frequently, knowing he can get whiffs or soft contact if batters get a swing off against it. The fastball plays an important role in his arsenal, not only as a high-whiff pitch, but as a pitch that sets up his slider and changeup as well.
Griffin Herring’s slider was his best pitch in college and remains an excellent pitch today, having -0.3 inches of Induced Vertical Break with 4 inches of Horizontal Break. It’s a sharp, high-spinning slider that has a 43.5% Whiff% and 38.9% Chase%, and it works against lefties and righties as a strikeout pitch. This two-pitch mix made him untouchable versus SEC competition, but his kick changeup has added a much-needed weapon to help him get righties out.
READ MORE: Yankees’ ugly loss should bring about some abrupt changes
Developed over the winter, this new kick changeup is an excellent pitch that generates tons of drop, which works well with a fastball. His changeup averages 4 inches of IVB, giving it roughly 14 inches of vertical separation off of his fastball, which induces both chases and whiffs. Opposing hitters chase over 44% of the time and whiff 39% of the time against that pitch, and by having a three-pitch mix, it gives him a well-rounded arsenal.
I still want Griffin Herring to explore other pitches to further develop his repertoire, but he’ll have time to figure out how his body moves and what routes could be best for him in terms of expanding his pitch mix. Furthermore, if he continues to have success being a three-pitch pitcher, the need for a fourth pitch in the near future could be less of a priority than developing velocity or polishing up his command.
Griffin Herring continues his reign of terror in the Florida State League.
The left-hander struck out 11 batters across 6.2 innings of one-run baseball, and his season numbers are ridiculous.
0.60 ERA | 32.8% K% | 8.4% BB% | 6 IP/GS pic.twitter.com/IuIqS8qNvu
— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaESM) May 2, 2025
Herring has been a brilliant pitcher this season; he leads all Florida State League pitchers in ERA (0.60) and is third in the league in strikeouts (39). What has impressed me most is the length of his starts, as he’s averaging six innings per start and leads the FSL in innings pitched (30) despite not having the most starts at that level. The combination of pitchability, stuff, and command is beyond impressive to me, and he has a higher ceiling than people think.
When we brought him on the Fireside Yankees Podcast, Griffin Herring mentioned that his velocity tends to improve as the season goes on, so if he can climb to around 92 MPH on average, it could be a massive game changer. His extension adds almost a full MPH to his fastball, and the previously stated idea of adding some more pitches could make him even nastier.
I didn’t include him on my top 10 prospects for the Yankees’ organization last week, but he’s gone from a backend top-30 prospect to a top-15 name in the farm system.