Konnor Griffin, a big leaguer at 19, is eager to shed the 'top prospect' label in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin endured plenty of emotions when the 19-year-old shortstop learned the Pittsburgh Pirates were calling him up to the majors just a week into the season. Shock was not one of them. “I'm ready for this,” Griffin said Friday, just hours before making his major league debut against Baltimore at PNC Park.
The Pirates are betting big on it, making Griffin the first position player to arrive in the majors before his 20th birthday since Juan Soto did it in Washington in 2018. Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024 first-year player draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6 jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh spot in the lineup against the Orioles.
On the surface, it seems fast. The reality is that Griffin checked every box — and checked every box quickly — while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .
438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis. Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly felt like Griffin was “pressing” near the end of spring training, when Griffin smashed three homers but also hit just . 171.
The club made Griffin one of the last cuts before the opening day roster was set. Yet rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A, made a couple of adjustments, and saw immediate results. “He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,” Kelly said.
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