BRADENTON, Fla. -- Konnor Griffin is just 19 years old.
You’ll get sick of hearing that this season, probably sooner than not. But it’s important to remember, and there's a good reason people can’t seem to stop mentioning it.
How can baseball’s No. 1 prospect already be so confident -- on the field and off -- when he wasn’t even supposed to graduate high school until 2025? How can this guy have already been drafted over a year ago, rocketed through three levels of Minor League ball and made hard contact off the reigning NL Cy Young winner to kick off his second big league Spring Training?
Many players spend careers chasing those kinds of accomplishments, and yet Griffin -- who also got married less than a month ago -- is checking things off his bucket list left and right with the polished, calm, quiet confidence of a seasoned veteran. There’s zero ego, just a willingness to work hard each day, “try to be a sponge” and continue to evolve, despite drawing comparisons to players like Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Mike Trout.
“It's super special,” Griffin said. “Those are great players, but the thing with me is I haven't played a game at the Major League level. Those guys have had success at the highest level, and I'm still working my way toward that. So until I have the success that they're having, I'm going to continue to just stay who I am and try to work my way up to that.”
Griffin said he’ll continue to grind even once he cracks the Majors, because nothing fills in those little gaps between talent and a solid mindset quite like hard work.
Though the first full-squad workout isn’t until Monday, Griffin arrived at Pirate City early enough this week to hop in the box against Paul Skenes. The right-hander bested Griffin with three consecutive fastballs during the first go-round, but Griffin made some quick adjustments, dug back in and lined a slider into left field in the rematch.
With no defenders during the live BP, it’s hard to say whether it would have fallen for a hit, but we’ll err on the side of youth.
And Skenes -- who, it bears mentioning, is still just 23 -- was fine with giving credit where it’s due.
“I think it's funny that everything I see of [Griffin] has to clarify that he's 19 years old, because you wouldn't think that. [He’s] super mature, super professional in how he goes about his business,” he said after the matchup. “Talking to him, it doesn't say, ‘19-year-old’ when you interact with him.
“It’s going to be fun. I'm excited to see his development. Excited to have him help us win a lot of games in Pittsburgh this year.”
Given his trajectory so far, Griffin’s MLB debut will likely happen in 2026. He began his pro career last season with Single-A Bradenton and wrapped the year with Double-A Altoona, slashing .333/.415/.527 across three levels with 21 homers, 94 RBIs, 65 steals, 50 walks and a Minors-leading 165 wRC+, with his 20-60 season just the fifth in history.
Griffin sits behind Nick Gonzales on the Pirates’ depth chart at shortstop for now, though Gonzales has spent just 30 of his 231 MLB games at the position and most of his career (199 games) at second. For what it’s worth, Griffin and Jared Triolo took grounders at shortstop in camp on Thursday, while Gonzales and Enmanuel Valdez were at third.
“I'm really excited about the day he is in Pittsburgh,” manager Don Kelly said. “When that is, we're just going to let that play out and be excited about whenever that date is.”
Griffin has exceeded all expectations through prep school and the Minors, and Pirates fans are starved for offense, so it’s understandable to want him in Pittsburgh right now. But there are advantages to patience and seasoning, and learning how to handle adversity when it comes knocking.
Whether Griffin cracks the Opening Day roster depends on more than statistics. He’s just 19 (have we mentioned that?), and the decision to leapfrog him past Triple-A will be tough because of it.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a possibility.
“Absolu--” manager Don Kelly began before dialing it back a bit. “Just the way he goes about it, he's… yes, it could be, I'm not sure. Let's just see how it all plays out and go from there.”
There’s no need to rush.
Griffin is, after all, just 19.