Fred Foster Griffin (born July 27, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Career

Kansas City Royals

Griffin attended

The First Academy The First Academy (TFA), is a private Christian school established in 1987 in Orlando, Florida. The school serves over 1,250 students from preschool to twelfth grade. Academics The First Academy is an Orlando-based private Christian school fo ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The

selected him in the first round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He signed on June 10, and was assigned to the

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington I ...

, where he posted a 3.21 ERA in 28

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Griffin spent 2015 with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

where he went 4–6 with a 5.44 ERA. In 2016, Griffin split time between Lexington and the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

, where he posted a combined 6–4 record and a 5.43 ERA between the two teams. He spent 2017 with both the

and the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

where he went a combined 15–7 with a 3.35 ERA between both clubs, and 2018 back with the Naturals where he pitched to a 10–12 record with a 5.13 ERA in 28 games (26 starts). He spent 2019 with the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

, going 8–6 with a 5.23 ERA over 25 starts, striking out 111 over innings. Griffin was added to the Royals 40-man roster following the 2019 season. Griffin made his major league debut on July 27, 2020, and pitched scoreless innings to earn the win against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. On August 11, 2020, Griffin underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. On November 30, 2020, Griffin was designated for assignment. On December 2, 2020, the Royals nontendered Griffin, making him a free agent. On December 12, 2020, Griffin re-signed with the Royals on a minor league contract. He made 15 rehab appearances with numerous Royals minor league affiliates in 2021. He began the 2022 season with the Triple-A

. On May 20, 2022, Griffin had his contract selected by the Royals. He was designated for assignment on July 11.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 16, 2022, Griffin was acquired in a trade with the

. He was released on November 15.

Yomiuri Giants

On January 12, 2023, Griffin signed with the

.https://twitter.com/TokyoGiants/status/1613418656574345216

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Foster 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Orlando, Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Kansas City Royals players Toronto Blue Jays players Burlington Royals players Lexington Legends players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic category:Yomiuri Giants players