Griffin Canning

BIOGRAPHY

Griffin Canning was born May 11, 1996, in Mission Viejo, California. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

Canning attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. He played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher. As a senior, he had an 11–3 win-loss record with a 1.51 earned run average (ERA) and 123 strikeouts and was named the Orange County Register Pitcher of the Year. In his final game, he led Santa Margarita to victory in the 2014 California Interscholastic Federation SS Division I Championship, recording 11 strikeouts and allowing only two hits. Canning was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 38th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and played college baseball at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for the Bruins.

Canning made 15 appearances with 11 starts as a freshman at UCLA in 2015. He was 7–1 with a 2.97 ERA and 66 strikeouts. As a sophomore, he became UCLA's number one starter. He made 15 starts, going 5–8 with a 3.70 ERA and 95 strikeouts. Canning returned as UCLA's ace in 2017. In 17 starts, he went 7–4 with a 2.34 ERA and 140 strikeouts.

The Los Angeles Angels selected Canning with the 47th pick in the second round of the 2017 MLB draft. He signed with the Angels for a $1,459,200 signing bonus, but did not pitch in 2017. He made his professional debut in 2018 with the Inland Empire 66ers of the Class A-Advanced California League, and after pitching 8.2 scoreless innings, he was promoted to the Mobile BayBears of the Class AA Southern League. He was promoted to the Salt Lake Bees of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in June. In 25 starts between the three teams, Canning went 4-3 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

On April 30, 2019, the Angels promoted Canning to the major leagues and he made his debut that night, recording six strikeouts over 4 1⁄3 innings pitched.

On January 13, 2023, Canning signed a one-year, $850K contract with the Angels, avoiding salary arbitration.