Jul 29, 2025 By Chris Dugan 3 min read

Andrew Herbert was a starting pitcher, and a very good one. He still considers himself a starting pitcher. And he will, in all probability, be a starting pitcher next year.

However, Herbert’s current role in his first season with the Wild Things is that of the closer – a relief pitcher.

Instead of pitching the first inning of games, the 6-6 righthander from San Clemente, Calif., is pitching the last inning. And he’s been doing it with spectacular results.

Herbert has a 4-0 record with nine saves and a 3.18 ERA in 19 outings (two starts). Since being moved to the bullpen, Herbert has been as reliable as it gets, with an ERA of only 1.00 over 18 innings. He was the winning pitcher Sunday against Florence, tossing a scoreless 10th inning in a 4-3 victory.

“I’m a starter pitcher, I’d say,” Herbert stated Tuesday before the Wild Things opened a three-game series at EQT Park against the New Jersey Jackals.

“Pitching in relief, it’s more of a case that my arm was taxed when I got here. Pitching relief, I can be fresh every day.”

Herbert was a starting pitcher at Reinhardt University, an NAIA school in Waleska, Ga. He was one of the best starting pitchers in the NAIA. Over the last three seasons, Herbert had a 31-2 record.

As a junior in 2024, Herbert pitched Reinhardt to the first NAIA World Series win in school history.

This spring, Herbert was 12-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 99 strikeouts over 100 innings, leading Reinhardt to a 43-13 record and a spot in the NAIA national tournament. Despite the impressive statistics, Herbert said he received no attention from scouts, likely because of his age – he’s 24 years old. Scouts are looking for younger pitchers.

Herbert signed with the Wild Things before the major league draft.

He is the second person from his family to play for the Wild Things. His brother, Lucas Herbert, was a catcher who played in 17 games in 2019 before having his contract purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization. Lucas Herbert had reached out to Wild Things vice president Tony Buccilli to gauge the Wild Things’ interest in Andrew as early as last year.

Herbert’s first two outings for Washington were starts, including a win over Florence. That wasn’t exactly the original plan, rather something that happened out of necessity because the Wild Things found themselves short on starters after a couple of pitchers left the team.

“He had a lot of innings on his arm already this year when he got here, so the plan all along was to use him as a reliever and limit his innings,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “Being a reliever, that fits his personality. He’s kind of a care-free guy.”

Though he has been pitching in relief for only a month, Herbert has thrived in the role.

“There’s more intensity,” Herbert said in what is the difference between pitching the ninth inning compared to the first.

“You go into a game and know the opponent is going to be looking to swing the bat. I like that. But closers are usually psycho and I’m more of a relaxed guy.

“I didn’t have any expectations when I got here. I just wanted to fill any role that Tom puts me in and get some innings under my belt.”