PHILADELPHIA — Nationals All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams said he didn’t know much about left-hander Foster Griffin heading into spring training.
Why would he? When Griffin was selected in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals, Abrams was 13 years old.
After seeing Griffin throw a handful of times in the spring, Abrams was impressed by his new teammate, who had signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract in the offseason.
“I saw his stuff; it was nasty,” he said Monday at the All-Star Week media availability. “I knew it was gonna be good.”
Regardless of whether Abrams is a reliable narrator, Griffin has lived up to the infielder’s preseason proclamation. Griffin, as a 30-year-old rookie, was named a National League All-Star after being one of the few reliable arms in a shaky Nationals starting rotation. He’s eighth among qualified NL starters in ERA (2.77), 11th in strikeouts (109) and seventh in innings pitched (110 1/3 innings) in the first half. He’s been durable and dependable.
“It’s tough to process,” Griffin said. “It’s been a whirlwind so far since I got here [Sunday]. Just walking in the clubhouse today, seeing the names on the lockers, it’s pretty surreal.”
Despite the pedigree of being a first-round pick, Griffin’s route to becoming an All-Star was anything but linear.
He didn’t debut until 2020, when he pitched 1 2/3 innings in the pandemic-shortened season. He then had to undergo Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and was subsequently designated for assignment by the Royals, who brought him back as a free agent.
After spending the 2021 season in the minors and rehabbing, Griffin returned to the majors in May 2022. He posted a 12.46 ERA over five appearances with Kansas City before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he pitched just two innings.
That appeared to be the end of Griffin’s career in Major League Baseball. He went to Japan to pitch for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2023, hoping to reinvent himself.
Moving overseas was done mostly out of necessity. If he couldn’t be a viable starter, then it was unlikely he could find success out of the bullpen because he doesn’t have an overwhelming fastball.
In Japan, Griffin improved his ability to synthesize data, use scouting reports to attack hitters and work his way out of jams. Over three seasons with the Giants, Griffin went 18-10 with a 2.57 ERA and 318 strikeouts in 315 2/3 innings pitched. After building confidence and an arsenal he felt comfortable with, he was ready to see if he could thrive in the majors.
The Nationals, under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, were in need of starting pitching and inked Griffin in the winter. And in a surprisingly competitive season marred by blown leads and inconsistent outings from starters, the Nationals have needed the length and quality that Griffin has provided to stay in the wild-card hunt.
“Man, he knows how to pitch,” Atlanta Braves All-Star first baseman Matt Olson said. “That was my first take on him. He’s able to move the ball around, can spin the ball well, but a good pitcher knows what he’s doing. There’s a handful of guys that are just ripping their best stuff, and he’s got good stuff. He knows what he’s doing.”
Griffin has a seven-pitch arsenal that he sequences well, even though his fastball is in the 9th percentile in velocity (91.4 mph) in the majors. The number of pitches he commands keeps hitters off-balance.
“It just expands the game plan a little bit,” Olson said. “He’s a guy who’s got a good feel for stuff and can go anywhere at any time. Whereas somebody who’s spraying it around — you get to 2-0, 3-0, you’re like, ‘Ah, he’s gonna come at me with a fastball’ or whatever — but [Griffin’s] a guy who can mix a mix and match a little more.”
It still hasn’t completely set in for Griffin, who sat at Citizens Bank Park wearing a Nationals uniform with an All-Star patch on his left shoulder.
Each stellar start this season was followed by doubts. Is his production sustainable? Could he get major-league hitters out consistently without a plus fastball? What would happen once hitters had more detailed scouting reports on him? Griffin has quieted the chatter as he takes his place among the game’s best.
He flew in after Sunday’s game and hadn’t had time to mingle with the other All-Stars outside of the perfunctory “How’s your first half?” questions. He spent much of Monday familiarizing himself with some of the game’s biggest stars.
Sitting to his left was Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, fielding questions from the national media. To his right was Phillies star Bryce Harper. All three share the distinction of being 2026 All-Stars, a statement that would’ve seemed unfathomable before the season.
“It’s just a huge honor,” Griffin said. “More than anything, it’s just great to represent the Nationals as an organization and be able to be here. It’s just an unbelievable experience for me and my family.”
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