Dan Griffin
| IP | 340 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.262 |
| WHIP | 1.418 |
| BB/9 | 3.335 |
| SO/9 | 9.424 |
- Full name Daniel P. Griffin
- Born 09/29/1984 in Schenectady, NY
- Profile Ht.: 6'7" / Wt.: 245 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Niagara
-
Drafted in the 5th round (162nd overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2005 (signed for $170,000).
View Draft Report
Some scouts say 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore RHP Dan Griffin will be the first Niagara pitcher drafted, ahead of James Avery. Griffin has a higher ceiling, but is nowhere near as polished--even though he made strides this spring. Griffin was so gangly and unrefined that he redshirted as a freshman and went 1-7, 9.55 with 27 walks and 26 strikeouts in 33 innings as a sophomore. But this year, he went 6-4, 4.37 while walking only 30 and striking out 120 strikeouts in 78 innings--one of the best ratios in the country. His fastball was 82-83 mph when he enrolled in school, but with improved mechanics now registers 90-94, and he complements it with a power curveball. His changeup needs a lot of work, and his command remains problematic.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
-
Griffin opened the season as one of the most promising arms in the South Atlantic League, and Augusta had one of the most effective pitching staffs in all of minor league baseball. But Griffin turned out to be the exception. He struggled to command his hard fastball and had trouble repeating his delivery in 16 starts before he was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis and a scapular stress reaction in his upper back. Griffin responded to rehab and the Giants were confident he would be 100 percent in the spring. A hulking presence on the mound, Griffin throws a slider and a sweeping curveball to complement a fastball that sits at 91-94 mph and tops out a bit higher. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, and when he dips down it's not by design. He's unsure of himself at times and is more of a thrower right now, but he has shown coaches signs that he's learning how to pitch. Griffin probably needs to develop a changeup to remain a starter, but once he becomes a consistent strike-thrower he'll move quickly. Expect him to start in high Class A this season. -
Griffin is a perfect example of the raw arms with upside the Giants love to draft. Unlike other pitchers drafted high out of the Albany, N.Y., area, such as Tim Stauffer and former Blue Jays lefthander John Cerutti, Griffin is a power pitcher. He remains raw because he's still growing into his 6-foot-7, 225-pound body, and if he improves his body control then he could rocket up this list. He led NCAA Division I in 2005 by averaging 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings, leading the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with 120 whiffs in 78 frames. He won his last five starts of his college career after losing 11 of his first 13 decisions for Niagara, a solid program in a relatively weak, Northern college conference. He redshirted as a freshman to get stronger--his fastball registered 82-84 mph--and improve his mechanics. As he has grown stronger and learned more about pitching, Griffin has increased his velocity to a consistent 90-94 mph and figured out how to use his height to throw downhill. His fastball already had natural sink, and he showed more consistency with his angular delivery in instructional league. Griffin's hard curveball also can be a plus pitch, though it can be inconsistent. His changeup is a third pitch and needs work, but when he's on, his fastball and curve suffice. Griffin is at his best when he works quickly and attacks hitters. He's expected to start 2006 in low Class A.
Minor League Top Prospects
-
Griffin led all NCAA Division I pitchers with 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings at Niagara during the spring and nearly maintained that pace in the NWL. His success comes from the fact that his delivery shows no changes whether he's firing either of his two plus pitches, a 91-92 mph fastball or a hard curveball that breaks late and straight down. He's a rhythm pitcher who prefers to worst fast, pumping strikes in the zone. He slows down noticeably when his command isn't on. "His curveball looks so much like a fastball that they don't see it out of his hand, and he has a little deception in his windup," Decker said. "When he's got the right tempo and mechanics, the tempo is very fast: boom, boom, boom, strike, strike, strike. When he's on, you just watch him. It doesn't matter if it's a righthanded hitter or lefthanded hitter, he just blows them away."
