This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
DENVER – Sometimes, one has to go way back to find the connections.
Righty pitching prospect (No. 18, per MLB Pipeline) Josh Grosz, acquired from the Yankees in the Ryan McMahon trade, had an easy link to the Rockies. He was a teammate of righty reliever Zach Agnos in college at East Carolina.
The lefty prospect who came in the trade, Griffin Herring (No. 5)? One has to go back further for his connection to Flint Wallace, the Rockies’ coordinator of pitching strategies.
“He coached my 7U team,” Herring said.
Seven and under? That's way back. The team was the Wolfpack, in Aledo, Texas.
“He was pitching coach at Weatherford Junior College, which was a pretty big program,” said Herring, who said he was about 6, so on the young side of the team. “His son was on the team. He would let us come up there and practice. It was more like we had a bunch of volunteer dads.
“It wasn't even kid-pitch yet. We were just a bunch of little kids running around, trying to do something. He kept up with me through high school, and I know my dad texted with him.”
Who knew Wallace was getting an early, early scouting report on a player he will now help develop?
“I never saw him pitch,” said Wallace, who was helping an old TCU teammate who had organized the team. “But he was definitely one of the better athletes, even at that age. Griffin threw harder at that age than most of the other kids, and could swing it a little bit better than most of the others.”
Herring, who played at LSU, and Grosz – both 22 – are at the Rockies' complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. They've met with player development officials, and will be observed throwing in the team's performance lab before most likely joining High-A Spokane. Both had been pitching at High-A Hudson Valley in the Yankees' system.
Both joined the Yankees' system young. Herring came in the sixth round in 2024 and signed for $797,500 after his sophomore year at LSU, where he pitched in relief on a staff that included 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. Grosz was still 20 when New York took him in the 11th round and signed him for $150,000.
Both saw rapid development. Herring, who has a 1.71 ERA and a .178 batting average against in 89 1/3 combined innings at Single-A and High-A, has increased the vertical break on his fastball and found success with a changeup that he rarely used in college but started throwing in the Cape Cod League last summer.
Grosz, who has 94 strikeouts against 35 walks and a .211 batting average against in 87 High-A innings, has gained strength and, through work with the Yankees’ sports sciences personnel, tweaked his mechanics to improve the shape of his fastball. He also has added a curveball to a mix that includes a solid slider and changeup.
But when one is a prospect with the Yankees, who can attract star pitchers for their rotation, they understood that all the instruction and fierce internal competition was more likely to prepare them for a chance with another team.
“A lot of players in the Yankees organization realize that their chances of playing in New York aren't super high – a lot of guys get traded," said Grosz, who said Agnos was one of the many friends who texted him during the uncomfortable hours between the breaking news and official notification of the trade.
“And credit to the coaching staff and the player development, [because] they're constantly pushing guys to reach their full potential.
“That's the goal for most players, to increase their value enough to be worth a trade. And I'm super grateful that the Rockies valued Griffin and me to trade for us – with one of their best players, one of the best third basemen in the league. We're pumped.”
The pitchers weren't fazed by the prospect of pitching under the pressure and in front of the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium. Now they're eager to pitch in the far greater offense-friendliness of Coors Field.
“Coors Field is a great field – I've seen a lot of pictures and a lot of people enjoy going to those games," Herring said. “All of the other factors are going to be what they are. But at the end of the day, it's baseball, and it's pitching. You're looking to get swings and misses and give up weak contact.”