With their 65-88 record, the Pittsburgh Pirates are poised to miss the postseason for the 10th consecutive season. But as the Pirates look towards their future, they have yet another top prospect who will soon take the league by storm.
Barring anything unforeseen, Paul Skenes is set to lead the rotation for the foreseeable future. Once he reaches the major leagues, Konnor Griffin will be the leader of the lineup. He is already ranked as the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, via MLB Pipeline.
Furthermore, Griffin has recently recently been named the Prospect of the Year by Keith Law of The Athletic. Still only 19-years-old, the shortstop/center fielder has already been drawing mammoth sized buzz.
“Griffin did the thing that only the best prospects seem to do: He got better as he moved up the ladder, in his case reaching Double A just a few months after he turned 19,” Law wrote. “He played at three separate levels this season — which was his pro debut — and didn’t post an average below .325, an OBP below .396 or a slugging percentage below .510 at any stop. He stole 65 bases in 78 attempts, for an 83 percent success rate.”
Griffin was selected by the Pirates with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Starting out in Low-A, the top prospect managed to work his way up to Double-A by the end of the year. Over 122 games total, he hit .333 with 21 home runs, 94 RBI and 65 stolen bases.
The High-A level gave Griffin a true chance to shine, as he hit .325 with seven home runs, 36 RBI and 33 stolen bases over 51 games. But his first 21 games in Double-A have proven to not be much of a challenge for Griffin either. He is hitting .337 with five home runs, 22 RBI and six stolen bases.
While the Pirates won't rush him to the majors, Griffin is carving our a fierce path in the minors. Eventually, Pittsburgh will have no choice but to call him up. When they do, the Pirates will hope Griffin's addition spawns a much more successful era of baseball in Pittsburgh.
