MLB · P · Cleveland Guardians
Foster Griffin
B/T R/L · 6' 3" · 225 lb · born Orlando, FL, USA · age 31 · draft 2014 rd 1 · played P 62 · MLB debut 2020-07-27
724 batters faced scored this season His season card →
The card rack
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FlagshipFoster Griffin #CO-FG · 2020 Topps Pro Debut Copa de La Diversion · 6 recent sales 7N ▲0%
Live on eBay now · asking, not sold · as of 2026-10-12 · paid links
The rookieFoster Griffin #DP24 · 2014 Bowman Draft Picks · 5 recent sales 7N ▲0%
Live on eBay now · asking, not sold · as of 2026-10-12 · paid links
Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases. · Flagship = his most-traded card (the market’s reference); the rookie = the top card of his first card year. As of October 12, 2026 · trend is FVR's own nightly archive · prices via SportsCardsPro · what these terms mean
Scout’s note
Orlando's Griffin was a first-round pick in 2014 and needed six years to reach the show, but here he is with 15 wins — seventh in MLB — and a 3.60 ERA across 172.2 innings. The board keeps him ungraded for the same reason every arm sits: the stuff model runs stable but hasn't been validated against outcomes. His ERA-FIP gap did trip the regression sensor, so the call is in by hand. The grade follows the science, not the win column.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
We wrote about Griffin here — The Buzz July 20, 2026 · The Overnight: 7.1 IP, ER, 9 K, 0 BB (June 22, 2026) · 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 K, 2 BB (April 26, 2026)
Current signals
The read: Griffin is in the Index ungraded, on purpose: our stuff model is stability-tested but not outcome-validated, so no big-league arm gets a board flag from it — not even one of the best seasons in the sport. (Calls are another matter: the ERA-FIP luck gap did clear the bar, and we file arm regression calls by hand from it.) The page is here because the player matters; the board grade waits for the science.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $5.50M
- Guaranteed
- $5.50M
- Term
- 1 yr
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary | $5.5M |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
Two sources, read a month apart, put this guarantee at the same dollar. That is the check, and it passed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
The Wire
▬ Quiet week on X.
X chatter, trailing 2 days · as of 2026-10-10 · newest post 2026-10-09 · summarized by Grok (xAI) · how this works →
Collect Foster Griffin
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Foster Griffin cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Foster Griffin
The scouting press, in their own words
For the Guardians: Foster Griffin threw 53 pitches in Game 3. Gavin Williams threw 18 pitches in Game 4. Cade Smith has thrown in *every game* of the ALDS, including 31 pitches in Game 4. Their pitch counts for Game 5 will be a major factor in the result. @MLBNetwork
also, Cleveland in a short series with Williams-Messick-Bibee/Griffin-Williams-Messick on regular rest is tough
Caleb Griffin ('28,NC) ⭐ • 3B • 5'11" 175lb Athletic two-way player with present strength and a well-proportioned frame. Simple setup with controlled gather, hands stay connected while the barrel works direct through the middle. Clean actions at 3B pair with an accurate arm https://t.co/iheYi0zYip
Umpire favor
+2.6 net runs over 32 graded games — the zone was kind to the umpire on balance.
The postseason
Foster Griffin’s playoff games, each on its reconciled card. Kept apart from the season line below — none of it is counted in a season number on this page.
- AL League Championship Series, Game 1 · CLE vs. TB · 4.0 IP, 3 K, 2 ER
- AL Division Series, Game 3 · CLE vs. CWS · 2.2 IP, 7 K, 1 ER
The line
| Year | Team | Lvl | G | IP | W–L | SV | ERA | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Kansas City Royals | MLB | 1 | 1.2 | 1–0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 2022 | Kansas City Royals | MLB | 5 | 4.1 | 0–0 | 0 | 12.46 | 2 | 2.31 |
| 2022 | Toronto Blue Jays | MLB | 1 | 2.0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 1.00 |
| 2022 | Total | MLB | 6 | 6.1 | 0–0 | 0 | 8.53 | 4 | 1.89 |
| 2026 | Washington Nationals | MLB | 22 | 129.1 | 12–3 | 0 | 3.06 | 116 | 1.07 |
| 2026 | Cleveland Guardians | MLB | 9 | 43.1 | 3–3 | 0 | 5.19 | 42 | 1.62 |
| 2026 | Total | MLB | 31 | 172.2 | 15–6 | 0 | 3.60 | 158 | 1.21 |
| MLB CAREER | 38 | 180.2 | 16–6 | 0 | 3.74 | 163 | 1.22 | ||
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →