Hard throwing LHP relief prospect Tim Herrin recently added to the 40-man could bolster the Guardians bullpen in 2023.
As the future of the organization prepares for a new year and spring training to begin, there’s no better time to bring you the Cleveland Baseball Insiders top 50 prospects for the upcoming 2023 season.
The Guardians are widely regarded as having one of the deepest and top farm systems in all of baseball. So deep, in fact, that it was very difficult to trim the list down to just 50 players I think could have an impact at the MLB level. I probably could easily have ended up listing 75 or more players.
I am implementing the Fangraphs future value grading scale which you will be able to locate under each player video. Future Value is a grade on the 20-80 scale that maps to anticipated annual WAR production during the player’s first six years of service.
My rankings are based off seeing the players live, watching video and having conversations with other evaluators and writers. While prospect lists are fun and entertaining for fans, they are not an end-all-be-all in terms of who make it eventually to the major leagues. Remember, Jose Ramirez was never a top 100 prospect nationally and Oscar Gonzalez wasn’t even a top 20 prospect in the Guardians organization.
The ultimate goal here is to inform our readers and give you information on some of the young talent in the organization that they can follow and look forward to seeing in the future at the MLB level.
Bio
The now 26-year-old Herrin was drafted by Cleveland in the 29th Round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Indiana University. He was a starter at Indiana made the transition to the bullpen after being drafted.
Herrin made his pro-debut in the Arizona Rookie League in 2018 appearing in 13 games and posting a 6.16 ERA over 19.0 innings. In 2019 split his season between short-season Mahoning Valley and Low-A Lake County posting a 2.93 ERA over 43.0 innings striking out 29 over 23 games. 2020 was a lost year of development due to the pandemic and cancelation of the entire minor league season.
Herrin really blossomed in 2021 at now High-A Lake County appearing in 36 games posting a 2.57 ERA while striking out 85 batters over 73.2 innings pitched.
2022 Season
Herrin spent the 2022 season splitting time between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus where he struck out 101 batters over 69.1 innings out of the bullpen while sporting 4.02 ERA. He pitched much better than his 4.02 ERA showed posting a 3.09 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) on the season.
Herrin dominated at Double-Akron to start the season. Over 12 games he posted a 2.01 ERA over 22.1 innings striking out 37 batters. He got off to a rough start at Triple-A Columbus when he was promoted in late May but finished strong over his final eight outings striking out 23 batters in just 13.1 innings while sporting a 2.03 ERA.
Arsenal
The 6’6″ left-hander is quite the presence on the mound similar looking to current Guardians reliever Sam Hentges. Like Hentges Herrin can really bring it with a fastball that runs 95-97 and can touch 99 mph. Herrin also has a cutter and a wipeout slider in his arsenal.
2023 and Future Outlook
While he still struggles with control at times his control has improved since originally drafted. If he can continue to develop better command and control of his above average three pitch mix, he could be a definite weapon for the Guardians bullpen as soon as 2023.
Full article can be found at: https://www.si.com/mlb/guardians/prospects/cleveland-guardians-2023-top-50-prospects-no-47-lhp-tim-herrin