A.J. Griffin

36-Year-Old PitcherP

Free Agent

2024 Stats

W-L

0-0

ERA

0.00

WHIP

0.00

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

There was no outlook written for A.J. Griffin in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man No

Height 6'5"

Weight 215

DOB 1/28/1988

Drafted 13th Rd 2010

Cut loose by Mets

PFree Agent

April 18, 2018

Griffin was released by the Mets on Wednesday, Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

ANALYSIS
Griffin allowed 16 runs on 13 hits and six walks across three innings in his first two starts with Triple-A Las Vegas this season, so the Mets decided to cut the 30-year-old loose. He's made 41 big-league appearances (38 starts) over the previous two seasons, albeit to little success (5.41 ERA across 196.1 innings). He should be able to find a minor-league deal elsewhere.

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2017

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2018

2017

2016

2015

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2013

Since breaking into the majors in 2012 with the Athletics, Griffin has been one of the majors' more extreme flyball pitchers, sporting a 48.7 percent career mark. While those tendencies weren't too much of an issue during his time in Oakland, Griffin's struggles with reining in the long ball proved much more problematic at Texas' hitter-friendly Globe Life Park the last two seasons. Following back-to-back campaigns with ERAs above 5.00 and more than two home runs allowed per nine innings, Griffin wasn't tendered a contract for 2018 and will probably need to rebuild his value through a minor-league deal. Though Griffin's prior success with the Athletics seemingly offers hope that he could reemerge as a serviceable arm in a more favorable pitching environment, it's worth noting that the right-hander's 2017 road numbers (4.98 ERA, 5.60 xFIP, 2.30 HR/9) weren't much better than his ugly marks in Arlington. Griffin has also struggled to stay healthy in recent years, tossing no more than 130 innings in any season since 2013.

The Rangers took a chance on Griffin by signing him to a contract after he hadn't pitched in the majors for two seasons due to a pair of injuries, but they were rewarded for much of the season as he serviceably ate up 119 innings. In 18 starts from April through August, he compiled a passable 4.39 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 7.8 K/9. Then the wheels came off in September to the tune of a 7.94 ERA. Serving up 28 home runs over the course of the season certainly didn't help his cause, and neither did his lack of control (3.5 BB/9). Fortunately, Griffin is still on the right side of 30, although his flyball tendencies won't play out well in Texas even if he does shore up his command. The right-hander is on track to open the year in the big league rotation, but that is more of a testament to the Rangers' lack of superior options. If he cannot cut down on the walks and home runs, he will likely be replaced by an internal option like Yohander Mendez sometime this summer.

After missing all of 2014 after Tommy John surgery, the A's were hoping to have Griffin available in the summer of 2015. His rehab went smoothly for a while, but after making two minor league rehab starts, Griffin suffered a shoulder strain in his pitching arm that ended up costing him the rest of the season. After a promising first two seasons of his career where Griffin posted a 3.60 ERA over his first 47 major league starts, it is difficult to know what to expect from Griffin after missing two full seasons. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers that includes an invite to spring training, and while the odds are against his cracking the rotation out of camp, he will probably find his way to a handful of spot starts if he can remain healthy at Triple-A.

After a 2013 season where Griffin threw 200 innings with an ERA under 4.00, expectations were that he would be a key cog in the A's 2014 rotation. After a tough spring outing in mid-March, he was diagnosed with elbow tendinitis and was shut down for three weeks. The next report indicated that Griffin would miss two months and the saga ended, as it often does, with Tommy John surgery in late April, causing Griffin to miss the entire season. It is difficult to project an exact return for Griffin, but he should be ready to return to the team around June. Griffin is very dependent on his control to be effective, which could throw a wrench in his performance early if he struggles to find his prior pinpoint control post Tommy John.

Griffin was very solid for the A's in 2013 with 14 wins and a 3.83 ERA, but he struggled mightily with the long ball, leading the league with 36 big flies allowed. He raised his K/9 from 7.0 to 7.7, but the home runs were primarily responsible for his ERA increasing nearly a full run between 2012 and 2013. Even with the home runs, Griffin was tough to hit as his .226 batting average against was the fifth best in the American League. If Griffin can find a way to cut the home runs to a respectable rate (it will not be easy considering he has the lowest GB/FB ratio in the AL), he has a lot of upside for the reasonably low price tag he will likely carry on draft day, especially since he gets to pitch half of his games in Oakland.

Griffin parlayed an excellent half-season in the minors (2.82 ERA in 17 starts across two levels) into a callup when the A's rotation suffered injuries. Once in the majors, Griffin did nothing but keep up the excellent production. In 15 starts with the A's, he had a 3.06 ERA and earned seven wins. Griffin does not throw especially hard (his average fastball was under 90 mph), but uses excellent control and a great changeup to find a way to strike guys out. He struck out 7.0 K/9 in the majors and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning over his minor league career. Griffin should have a spot in the starting rotation unless the A's sign a veteran starter, and he will likely be a nice under the radar pick pitching in the spacious Oakland Coliseum.

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