PITTSBURGH -- Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin will lead off for the first time in his Major League career Tuesday night as the Pirates take on the Cubs at PNC Park. Griffin, who will become the youngest Pirates player to bat leadoff since Bobby Del Greco in 1952, has previously batted in five different positions in the order through his first 47 games, ranging from second to eighth.
“Konnor's going to continue to get better, as we've seen in his short time that he's been in the big leagues, and it's just going to continue to get better,” Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said pregame. “[We have been] challenging him in different ways -- and he's met all of those. [We're] excited to see him take another step today as a leadoff guy.”
Kelly cited the matchup with left-handed starter Jordan Wicks as a key reason for the decision. Nick Gonzales has previously slotted into the leadoff spot against lefties at times this season, but Kelly sees opportunity for production in the middle of the order from Gonzales and added ability for Griffin to cause havoc on the basepaths out of the leadoff spot.
Griffin is batting .262 with a .705 OPS in his age-20 season. He’s also stolen 12 bases thus far, ranking second on the Pirates behind Oneil Cruz. Griffin’s sprint speed ranks in the 98th percentile among Major Leaguers, per Baseball Savant, while his baserunning value is also in the 98th percentile.
Griffin is the seventh player to bat in the leadoff spot for Pittsburgh this season. He’s the youngest to bat leadoff in MLB since Jackson Chourio in 2024, who was 20 years and 32 days old when he did it two years ago -- Griffin's exact age on Tuesday.