Konnor Griffin Wasting No Time Adapting to First Season of Pro Ball
When the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Konnor Griffin ninth overall, in the 2024 MLB Draft, they were getting arguably the best high school bat in the entire draft.
The former Jackson Prep standout put pen to paper with the Bucs by signing a bonus of $6.53 million, which is the second biggest draft amount the Pirates have offered a prep player behind only Termarr Johnson, who signed for $7.2 million in 2022.
Griffin certainly received rave reviews entering the draft. He possesses a terrific, power/speed combo, which most scouts believe can translate into being a 30-30 player.
Despite no professional games under his belt, Griffin was given a spring training invitation from the Pirates.
The Grapefruit League was an opportunity for Griffin to showcase his talents, and he provided glimpses of it - not just with an advanced approach at the plate for his age, but also his defensive prowess at both shortstop and center field.
Griffin was assigned to Low A Bradenton to officially begin his pro ball journey.
The 19-year-old so far has hit the ground running, as a member of the Marauders; slashing .282/.341/.504, with a wRC+ of 132 in 130 plate appearances. He has six home runs and 13 stolen bases, which are third and fourth most in the Florida State League respectively.
Couple notable games that have stood out for Griffin to this point were April 27th against the Lakeland Tigers, where he collected three doubles, and May 9th versus Lakeland, in which he went 4-for-4, while coming a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
Defensively, Griffin has been steady. He’s played more shortstop (19 games) than center fielder (four games), but his plus speed is allowing him to cover a ton of ground in center, which ultimately could be his better position on defense.
Over the weekend, MLB Pipeline updated their Top 100 prospects list. Griffin moved up five spots from 43 to 38.
Provided that Griffin remains consistent at the plate, and continues to post solid, numbers offensively, he could get a promotion to High A Greensboro by July at the earliest.