Konnor Griffin is gunning for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Opening Day starting shortstop role. Their 2024 first round pick is going into 2026 as the consensus number one prospect in the entire sport. After a scorching hot start to Spring Training, Griffin is showing he has very little left, if anything left, to prove, and that he deserves to go up North with the Bucs.
So far into Spring Training, Griffin has three home runs over 14 plate appearances. He has only struck out twice as well. However, the most impressive part of his game is how hard he is hitting the ball. Griffin has eight batted balls at 100+ MPH. Many of his hard hit batted balls aren’t off nobodies either. He is hitting home runs against MLB-caliber arms, including one All-Star in Ranger Suarez.
Griffin’s Spring Training is the start of his encore after an astounding 2025 season. Last season, the number one prospect batted .333/.415/.527 with a .437 wOBA, and 165 wRC+ over 563 plate appearances. Griffin went yard 21 times with a .194 isolated slugging percentage while swiping 65 bases. He walked at an 8.9% clip, with a strikeout rate of just 21.7%. Griffin’s contact rate also sat at a solid 75.7%.
Griffin didn’t just crush minor league pitching; his production got better at each and every level. He started 2025 at A-Ball Bradenton, where he owned a 156 wRC+ in 231 plate appearances. Once he got promoted to High-A Greensboro, he put up a 170 wRC+ in 234 trips to the dish. That earned Griffin another bump to Double-A Altoona, where he had a 175 wRC+, albeit in a smaller sample size of 98 PA’s. He was the only teenager to reach Double-A last season with 80+ plate appearances, and a wRC+ over 145.
The only thing you can possibly say about Griffin is that he hasn’t played enough in the upper-levels of the minor leagues. 98 plate appearances at Double-A is not very much playing time. Griffin is also just 19 and doesn’t turn 20 until late April. The last player to make their debut as a teenager and have 500+ plate appearances in one season is Juan Soto in 2018. However, if Soto and Bryce Harper in 2012 are Griffin’s most recent comparisons in terms of prospect status, age, and impact they had on their teams their rookie years, then maybe Griffin has earned his way to the Major Leagues more than some may think.
Colin Beazley stated before Spring Training began that Griffin would have to leave no doubts in order to make the Opening Day roster. So far, what doubts has he raised? After obliterating minor league pitching at three different levels, including at Double-A, and now ripping the cover off the ball in Spring Training, what’s there left for him to do? Another 100 plate appearances, this time at Triple-A Indianapolis isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about what he is capable of. He’s done everything he possibly can to earn an Opening Day roster spot, and hopefully, the Pirates make the right decision.
