With Zac Gallen struggling, the Arizona Diamondbacks must target Washington Nationals breakout starter Foster Griffin.
With how little the Arizona Diamondbacks have gotten out of a guy like Zac Gallen, they should absolutely explore adding a starting pitcher at the trade deadline.
Recently, The Athletic compiled a list of 78 players who could be on the move here in 2026. The D-Backs were linked to quite a few players, and that includes the Washington Nationals' Foster Griffin.
It's hard to call Griffin an ace as he's only three years into his big-league career, but the 30-year-old has sure made a name for himself this season.
The Florida native is an astonishing 11-2 in his 20 starts and posts a 3.7 WAR. If that's not impressive enough, he's among the top 10 pitchers in the league for his 2.68 ERA (10th) and his 1.03 WHIP (seventh).
Diamondbacks must bring in a starter
This Diamondbacks team is incredibly inconsistent, and that's the last thing fans want to hear of a team that could easily sneak into a Wild Card spot. Winning the National League West would be a tall task, so at this point the organization's main goal should be doing enough at the deadline to make sure they don't miss the playoffs entirely.
Tim Britton, Johnny Flores Jr., Chad Jennings, and Eno Sarris all contributed to The Athletic's article, which included the following excerpt about Griffin: "In some ways, Griffin came back from Japan as advertised. He’s a low-velocity lefty with good command and a (very) wide mix of average-ish pitches. In other ways, he’s surprised.
"Despite the poor velocity, he’s managed to keep the slugging percentage on his fastballs in the low fours, and in some part he’s done so by having a better cutter than might have been expected. In the end, though, he’s still a low-velocity, wide-mix guy, so more of a back-end add to most contenders."
A look at Griffin's advanced numbers
According to Baseball Savant, Griffin has a few numbers that set him apart from the rest. His fastball run value is 13, which puts him in the 96th percentile, and he also has a pitching run value of 12, which is good for the 89th percentile.
Elsewhere, Griffin has just a 5.7% walk rate. Leaguewide, that puts him in the 90th percentile. Other astonishing numbers include him being in the 79th percentile for his chase rate (33.6%), 74th percentile for his average exit velocity (87.5%), and his ground ball percentage (46.3%), which places him in the 72nd percentile.
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