Josh Grosz was not ranked in my top 30 prospects for the Yankees’ organization heading into 2025, an omission that he has made look utterly foolish.
I wasn’t the only one to omit the right-hander from a top 30 list; he isn’t featured in a top 30 on any major publication, but he’s showing that to be a foolish decision based on his performances in High-A.
Following a gorgeous performance where he struck out eight batters across seven innings of one-run baseball, Grosz has quietly put together a remarkable season with the Hudson Valley Renegades.
A 2023 11th Round Pick who looks ticketed for a Double-A promotion at some point this season, Josh Grosz should be garnering more buzz in prospect circles.
Why Josh Grosz Could Be a Big Deal in the Yankees’ Farm System Soon
Across seven starts with the Hudson Valley Renegades, Josh Grosz is sporting a 3.60 ERA and 3.42 FIP across 35 innings, striking out 45 batters with just 12 walks.
Grosz is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the South Atlantic League, and his high groundball rates keep the ball in the yard, as he’s allowed just three home runs to this point of the season.
Last year, he sported a 3.85 ERA and 4.45 FIP across three levels of the Yankees’ organization, walking 10.1% of batters faced and allowing a 1.04 HR/9.
The Yankees were able to make some refinements to his repertoire to help the right-hander better control his strikeouts, walks, and home runs, a ratio that is very indicative of a pitcher’s future success.
His changeup has improved a lot from last season, becoming a pitch so devastating that left-handed hitters have a mere .444 OPS against him with a 36.1% K% across 72 plate apperances this season.
It has nearly 0″ IVB with excellent lateral movement, playing perfectly off of a fastball which grades out as roughly a league-average pitch.
Grosz also sports a gyro slider that has a lot of vertical drop which he can use against right-handed hitters, giving him three reliable pitches he can use in any count.
What I love about Josh Grosz’s approach on the mound is that he doesn’t deviate from using his changeup against right-handed hitters or his slider against left-handed batters.
While he is limited by being a three-pitch starter, all three of those pitches have utility against both sides of the plate, and there’s upside for him to add even more to his arsenal.
Josh Grosh has become a strikeout machine in the Yankees’ organization, being one of the premier swing-and-miss arms at the High-A level.
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The Yankees have a lot of strikeout arms on their Hudson Valley Renegades’ staff, but none gets as little love as Josh Grosz has this season.
Only 22 years old, he’s roughly the same age as the pitchers he shares a rotation with, and there’s real upside in his repertoire.
His fastball sits between 93-95 MPH with average vertical movement from a lower arm angle, his changeup as mentioned earlier has tons of movement, and his slider is a reliable breaking ball he can get whiffs with.
With a 1.93 ERA and 33.8% K% over his last three starts, Josh Grosz is on a roll and could be getting hot at the right time.
A promotion to Double-A could come soon, especially since he made it up to Hudson Valley last summer and made seven starts.
With Griffin Herring tearing up the Florida State League, the Yankees will need to make room in their High-A rotation to facilitate a promotion, and Josh Grosz could be the first man up.