It was announced earlier today that LHP Griffin Herring and OF Tyler Wilson were both named (in a sweep!) the Florida State League Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively.
It’s rare to see a prospect perform the same or better in the pros compared to his collegiate career, but that’s exactly what Tarpons LHP Griffin Herring has done in the first two months of his pro career with the Yankees. The LSU alum was recently named to MiLB’s Prospect Team of the Week after throwing 6 no-hit innings versus the Dunedin Blue Jays (Low-A Toronto). Dunedin only reached base twice on two walks, and the team’s batters were struck out 10 times in the 6 inning appearance.
Herring has without a doubt been Tampa’s best pitcher, holding an ERA around or under 1 through 8 games. Surprisingly, Herring started 1 game with LSU out of the 39 he threw in for them, recording 8 saves between 2023 & 2024. That said, Herring has a lower opposing batting average (.153 vs. 209), lower WHIP (1.03 vs. 0.90), lower BABIP (.227 vs. .314) and the same K% (33.3%) compared to last season with LSU.
Herring doesn’t seem to fade like other pitchers do as they start to fatigue. He was pulled from the no-hitter after 6 innings because of a pitch limit, but I suspect that if he was in the Majors, or possibly a bit higher up in the system, he may have been able to pull off a full no-hit game. He was in line for over 100 pitches; he ended the day with 86 pitches and 53 strikes.
It should be noted as well that Herring held a 0.39 ERA in the month of April; 23.1 IP, 1 ER on 12 H, 1 HB, 10 BB, and 28 SO.
Tarpons playing better in May
The Tarpons look like a completely different team compared to the one I saw in the first few weeks of the season. There’s a lot more cohesion and, to be frank, more teamwork, instead of just playing for oneself’s benefit. The pitching has looked better, with Herring being the “ace” of the starting rotation, and the bullpen has also cleaned things up to. We haven’t seen this good of a team since this time in 2021, when players like Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Andres Chaparro were with the Tarpons.
Tyler Wilson, the Florida State League’s Player of the Week for May 19-25, batted 12-for-20 (.600) with 2 doubles, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 K and was 1-for 2 on stolen bases. Wilson also recorded 23 total bases.
The Tarpons still have an uphill climb out of what was last place, but are only 2.5 games back of Lakeland and face Lakeland in a 3-game split week because of the schedule adjustments to accommodate the Rays (they’re home vs. Fort Myers this weekend). The possibility exists that Tampa can get up to first place in the West Division before the end of the week. Tampa’s record to date in May is 15-7 (.682) versus 9-14 (.391) in April. They have a combined record of 24-21 (.533).
Tampa had also increased their run differential to +34 from -22 on April 30. They went from 93-115 to 246-212, scoring 153 runs and allowing 97 runs for a run diff of +56 in May.
A lot of that has to do with Tampa’s offense waking up. They’re making better swing decisions and are working more pitches until they get one they can hit. We’re getting to that point in the season where we’re going to start seeing movement throughout the system. Prospects like Dillon Lewis (2024,13th round) and Juan Matheus (IFA, Venezuela) are hitting .313/.389/.689 and .298/.354/.357, respectively in May. We’ve seen improvements throughout the offense as a whole for the most part, but those two stick out in particular, given their performances of late.
The pitching is a lot more consistent as well, and the Tampa bullpen has improved significantly. Sean Hermann has looked even better than he did in 2023 with Tampa as he returns from Tommy John surgery (ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction surgery). They’ve also moved Hermann from starter to reliever, which may be the route the Yankees go in the long term; he’s improved from a 4.93 ERA in 22 games in 2023 to a 1.61 ERA in 12 games in 2025.
As noted previously, the Tarpons start the week tonight on the road versus the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Low-A Detroit), spending the next 3 nights there, and return home for a 3-game weekend series versus the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Low-A Minnesota). The rotation in Lakeland should be something like Kirtner, Flatt, Herring based on what they’ve had the past two weeks, but Brock Selvidge is rehabbing with Tampa so they may sneak him in there for an inning or two someplace.
Tampa usually doesn’t announce their starter until just prior to first pitch; Lakeland has rehabbing RHP Tyler Mattison starting tonight. Mattison missed all of 2024 to injury, but was last with AA Erie in 2023, throwing a 1.62 ERA in 33.1 IP.
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