Girton played three springs at Texas Tech but never found a regular spot in the rotation -- an injury-marred 2022 didn’t help -- and transferred to Oklahoma in '24. Ten of his 16 appearances with the Sooners were starts, but success was still limited with a 7.32 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 31 walks in 35 2/3 innings. The Mets selected him in the 10th round -- two rounds after taking OU teammate Ryan Lambert -- and signed him for below slot at $122,500. Girton dominated High-A Brooklyn in his first full season, posting a 2.59 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings, before slowing down in his final four starts with Double-A Binghamton.
The 6-foot-1 right-hander pitches with bounce in his delivery and throws from a high three-quarters slot. His four-seam fastball can move in the mid 90s and acted like a downright weapon with cut-ride action at the top of the zone, getting whiffs on one-third of opponents’ swings against it across both levels in 2025. Girton works with two slider variations -- a mid-80s sweeper with a ton of horizontal break and a tighter upper-80s option that practically acts like a cutter. He has talked about adding a splitter but went to very little offspeed last season. Luckily for him, the sweeper can backfoot lefties well and helped fend off splits issues.
Girton really struggled to deliver consistent strikes in school and looked to correct course midseason in ’25, only to struggle again after his move to the Eastern League. He’s already entering his age-24 season and might not have too long of a leash for starting, now that he’s seen the upper Minors, unless the control is ironed out or he finds a split/change. Even so, the fastball/sliders could put him on the fast track to Queens on their own.
