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CINCINNATI, OHIO - MAY 14: Foster Griffin #22 of the Washington Nationals throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 14, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves have been outpacing the rest of Major League Baseball, but they could use some help in the rotation. Enter Foster Griffin.
Griffin, 30, first pitched in MLB in 2020. After only 1.2 innings of work, he didn’t see action again until 2022.
Then, from 2023 to 2025, Griffin went overseas to Japan to reset his professional career.
It has seemingly worked this season, as Griffin sports a 3.15 ERA for the Washington Nationals through a workload of 91.1 innings. That comes with one blowup start against the Reds on May 14. Remove that blip, and the ERA becomes a lot shinier.
The southpaw’s latest outing was masterful. He twirled 7.1 innings of one-run ball against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves’ biggest rival has been surging as of late, and Griffin seems to know just how to stop them.
Atlanta’s rotation of Chris Sale, Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, JR Ritchie, and Martin Perez has been solid, but many are skeptical of its postseason validity.
Griffin has proven thus far that he’s a big-ticket pitcher, and the MLB world isn’t ignoring his newfound success.
Here’s what people are saying:
Just Baseball: “Foster Griffin’s last 4 starts: 5.0 IP | 1 R | 0 BB | 4 K’s 6.0 IP | 1 R | 0 BB | 5 K’s 6.0 IP | 1 R | 2 BB | 6 K’s 7.1 IP | 1 R | 0 BB | 9 K’s Griffin is DEALING lately.”
Tobey Schulman: “Foster Griffin since May 24th: 6 GS 35.1 IP 1.78 ERA 35/5 K/BB .202 BAA 0.88 WHIP. Over that stretch, he has the lowest ERA of any LHP in Major League Baseball. #Natitude.”
Nationals Advisory: “Just wow, this is probably the most complete game the Nationals have had all season. The offense set the tone early with a Crews single and a solo shot from Luis García Jr. Curtis Mead added insurance in the 7th with a two-run homerun. Foster Griffin is arguably the steal of the off-season. He wasn’t well known in the beginning of the season, and he’s been turning some heads in the 1st half. 9 strikeouts against this Phillies lineup is nuts, and no, the rain delay didn’t stop him. Not to mention the defense backed him up, I think no other 2nd baseman in the league turns that double play that Nasim Nuñez turned.”
Nats.Talk: “‘We’ve played a lot of playoff teams, and we’re up there above .500, and pushing for a Wild Card spot. I’m really impressed with this team as a whole. We’re not backing down from anybody. It doesn’t really matter the names on the back of the jersey, or what team we’re playing. We feel like we’ve got a good lineup — and a good staff to go out there and combat it.’ — Foster Griffin said.”
The Atlanta Braves are currently 48-30, atop the National League East.
Although the Braves’ lineup has been fearsome, right-handed hitters have struggled.
Most notably, All-Star talent Austin Riley hasn’t been the same this season.
Atlanta is on pace to run the East all year and will be in a good spot for postseason baseball.
The last step is to position for not only a berth, but also actual noise.
AJ Stone AJ Stone is a baseball writer for Heavy, covering MLB news and various trends. His work has also appeared on Redbird Rants, Inside Halos, District on Deck, and other digital outlets. With a focus on analytics, he aims to blend data with storytelling for an engaging experience for his readers. More about AJ Stone
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