Griffin garners Hitting Prospect of the Year, best MiLB debut awards

As the 2025 Draft approached, there was general agreement that Mississippi high schooler Konnor Griffin likely had the best all-around set of raw tools in the entire class.

But the emphasis was on raw. There were holes in his swing, some scouts said. That led to swing-and-miss concerns. Sure, he was exciting and athletic, with four tools getting at least a 60 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale -- that's plus -- but the one tool that is typically the key, the hit tool, was questioned. He had No. 1 pick type of upside, but those worries about his bat-to-ball skills resulted in him landing with the Pirates at No. 9 overall.

The Pirates didn't swing and miss on the pick, and Griffin hasn't done much of it either, far surpassing any expectations for the teenager in his first taste of pro ball. He began the year at Single-A, finished it at Double-A, and in between, made an unprecedented climb to the top of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. And for those monumental efforts, Griffin picked up kudos as Minor League Hitting Prospect of the Year and made the Minor League Debut of the Year on the third annual MiLB Awards Show on Monday night.

Griffin was chosen as the Hitter of the Year, edging the Tigers' Kevin McGonigle (DET No. 1/MLB No. 2) and the Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt (STL No. 1/MLB No. 6). His numbers show exactly why he won the hitting award while also beating out pitchers Trey Yesavage (TOR No. 1/MLB No. 25) and Griffin Herring (COL No. 9) for debut honors.

The Pirates aren't often aggressive with high school draftees, but Griffin forced their hand with a strong Spring Training to begin Opening Day with Single-A Bradenton, and he produced at all three stops during his campaign. In 122 total regular-season games, Griffin hit .333/.415/.536 and arguably got better with each promotion, with an OPS of .932 with Bradenton, .942 for High-A Greensboro and .960 in 21 games with Double-A Altoona.

"The only goal I had at the beginning of the year was to make the Futures Game," said Griffin, who crossed that off his bucket list in July. "But once I got to High-A at the halfway mark, I was like, 'Let's continue to do what we're doing and maybe get the chance to play in Double-A. It ended up working out."

Griffin finished the year with a 165 wRC+, which led all Minor Leaguers with more than 400 plate appearances (McGonigle had a 182 wRC+ in 397 PA). Griffin also turned in a 20/60 season -- 21 homers and 65 steals to be precise -- just the second time a Minor Leaguer has pulled off that feat since the early 1980s. (Jonatan Clase did so in the Mariners organization in 2023.)

So Griffin clearly belongs in the conversation when it comes to the best seasons turned in by a teenager in the Minors in recent memory. Alex Rodriguez went from A-ball to the big leagues at age 18 in 1994, posting a .953 OPS with 21 homers and 20 steals over 114 games during his rapid climb through the Minors in his own pro debut.

Mike Trout had a .918 OPS in his first full season of pro ball in 2010, played largely at age 18, then upped that to .958 the following year en route to making his big league debut ahead of his 20th birthday. More recently, Ronald Acuña Jr. wowed everyone at age 19 by playing across three levels in 2017 and turning in a 20/20 campaign. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit .381 with a 1.073 OPS in 95 games at age 19 in 2018, while Jackson Holliday raced through four levels, finishing with a .941 OPS at the same age in 2023.

Griffin's 2025 season stands up when compared to all of these, and his approach improved along with his numbers as he ascended the Pirates' ladder. Some seemingly small mechanical changes with his load and hand placement in his setup at the plate unlocked his ability to tap into those tools all year long.

"It's cool to look back, it felt like forever ago, back being in big league camp," Griffin said about his first full season that began in February. "I give a lot of credit to being in big league camp. I learned how to be a pro. I grew over the Low-A games I was there, that helped me grow as a player. There were some challenges, but I was able to overcome them. The same way for every step I've taken."

Those extra steps have Pirates fans salivating over the prospect of Griffin's arrival in Pittsburgh, and there's little doubt the timetable has been sped up after this campaign. With people around the game pointing to the team's pitching strength and the feeling the big league roster just needs a few more bats to make it a competitive team, the idea of seeing Griffin at least compete for a job next spring -- when he'll still be 19 years old, by the way -- doesn't sound so far-fetched. Perhaps some brake-pumping will be employed, though even those wanting to make sure he's put in a position to succeed long term can't deny what Griffin accomplished in 2025.

"I think we've got to be really careful about it, honestly," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said recently. "He's had a remarkable season. He's 19 years old. He'll be 19 next April still. ... That means that -- while he's had a remarkable season, we're obviously incredibly excited that he's a Pirate -- there's still more to learn.

"This is a player that's really important to the Pirates. It's important to him too, that he's set up to have the longest, best career possible for him. We have some influence on that in terms of how we guide the next months, years of his entry into the big leagues, however long that takes. ... Sometimes there are unusual young players that don't follow all the rules. We just don't know yet where that's going to take us."

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The when, and not if, about all of it is easy to get excited about. And more than anything, beyond the eye-popping numbers and the tools, what really amazed the Pirates brass was how their prized prospect handled and prepared for everything.

"I think the thing that has stood out about him is, to the very end of the season ... is his desire to keep getting better to the very last day of the season and showing up [on the final day of his season] wanting to work on something," Cherington said. "Having most of his offseason mapped out and all that is an encouraging sign for a 19-year-old."