n=273 near this checkpoint
Why he matters right now
Foster Griffin is top-10 in the majors in wins
He is 6th in wins at 15 — placements on MLB's own season boards, which rank every QUALIFIED pitcher in the sport rather than the few dozen this site tracks. Qualified is MLB's own bar, and it is the reason a part-season player with a big number is not on these boards at all.
This has been his headline for 29 straight days.
The case in 30 seconds
- 15 6th in wins at 15 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- 3.60 ERA over 173 innings, with 158 strikeouts, 31 starts and a 1.21 WHIP snapshot pitching board — the union of MLB's top-10 pitching boards, then MLB's 1.0 IP per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
The honest caveat
A top-ten finish is a position on a board, not a verdict on a player. The men just below him on it are not meaningfully worse, and one good week moves several places.
Every claim above, with its source (2)
- 6th in wins at 15 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- ERA over 173 innings, with 158 strikeouts, 31 starts and a 1.21 WHIP snapshot pitching board — the union of MLB's top-10 pitching boards, then MLB's 1.0 IP per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
The evidence
Situational splits
| Split | IP | ERA | SO | WHIP | AVG against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP | 30.1 | — | 26 | 1.71 | .317 |
| vs RHP | 93.1 | — | 75 | 1.18 | .246 |
| vs RHP | 123.2 | — | 101 | 1.31 | .265 |
| vs LHP | 12.1 | — | 16 | 1.46 | .288 |
| vs LHP | 36.0 | — | 41 | 0.81 | .171 |
| vs LHP | 48.1 | — | 57 | 0.97 | .204 |
| Home | 25.0 | 4.68 | 24 | 1.52 | .296 |
| Home | 59.0 | 2.90 | 50 | 1.10 | .231 |
| Home | 84.0 | 3.43 | 74 | 1.23 | .251 |
| Away | 18.1 | 5.89 | 18 | 1.75 | .325 |
| Away | 70.1 | 3.20 | 66 | 1.05 | .221 |
| Away | 88.2 | 3.76 | 84 | 1.20 | .246 |
| Day | 14.0 | 5.79 | 14 | 1.57 | .291 |
| Day | 58.1 | 3.39 | 51 | 1.22 | .244 |
| Day | 72.1 | 3.86 | 65 | 1.29 | .254 |
| Night | 29.1 | 4.91 | 28 | 1.64 | .317 |
| Night | 71.0 | 2.79 | 65 | 0.96 | .211 |
| Night | 100.1 | 3.41 | 93 | 1.16 | .244 |
2026 season, MLB Stats API. A split with no plate appearances is omitted rather than shown as zeroes.
31G
31GS
172.2IP
15-6W-L
3.60ERA
1.21WHIP
158K
8.24K/9
0SV
Strikeout chase
| Chase | Current | Pace | Needed from here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 K | 158 | 158 | 42 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 250 K | 158 | 158 | 92 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 300 K | 158 | 158 | 142 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 350 K | 158 | 158 | 192 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 383 K | 158 | 158 | 225 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
ERA & WHIP finish lines
| Finish | Current | Required rest-of-season | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-2.00 ERA | 3.60 | — | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-1.75 ERA | 3.60 | — | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-1.50 ERA | 3.60 | — | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-1.00 WHIP | 1.21 | — | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-0.90 WHIP | 1.21 | — | IMPOSSIBLE |
Recent game log
Derived nightly from the snapshot ledger — each row is the difference between consecutive days; multi-day rows are labeled.
| Date | Opp | Result | IP | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-23 | Boston Red Sox | L 0-1 | 6.0 | 7 |
| 2026-09-15 | Chicago White Sox | W 7-6 | 4.0 | 5 |
| 2026-09-09 | Baltimore Orioles | L 5-9 | 2.1 | 4 |
| 2026-09-04 | Detroit Tigers | W 7-6 | 6.0 | 3 |
| 2026-08-18 | San Francisco Giants | W 8-1 | 6.0 | 6 |
| 2026-08-12 | Detroit Tigers | W 6-4 | 5.0 | 3 |
| 2026-08-06 | New York Mets | L 6-13 | 4.0 | 6 |
| 2026-07-31 | Atlanta Braves | L 2-6 | 5.1 | 3 |
| 2026-07-25 | Arizona Diamondbacks | W 5-3 | 6.2 | 2 |
| 2026-07-19 | Athletics | W 5-2 | 7.0 | 2 |
Lahman + Retrosheet context
How this season fits history
Chase history
Stuff watch
Cutter velocity, start by start
Every start's average against his own trailing baseline of 88.5 ± 0.69 mph. Ringed dots sit more than one standard deviation under the baseline; last start 88.4 mph (2026-09-23).
No active signals — inside one standard deviation of his own baseline. A trend report, not a diagnosis.