Konnor Griffin Getting Hot at Right Time for Pirates
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PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin has had his struggles at the plate early in his MLB career, but recently has found some success swinging the bat.
Griffin has been excellent for the Pirates the past five games, slashing .389/.421/.722 for an OPS of 1.143, which includes seven hits in 18 at-bats, his first two home runs, five RBI and two stolen bases.
He's also had a good two-plus weeks as of late from the plate, slashing .273/.310/.436 for an OPS of .747 in his past 15 games, with 15 hits in 55 at-bats, a double, a triple and nine RBI.
Griffin only just turned 20 years old, but as he closes in on his first full month in the major leagues, it's a good sign for the Pirates that he's improving offensively.
Griffin Finding Success Against Higher Velocity Pitches
The adjustment from the minor leagues to MLB is massive for any player, particularly one as young as Griffin.
Griffin made his MLB debut back on April 3 and will come up on that month played with the Pirates by the end of this homestand, giving him some idea of what he'll face when he's at the plate.
Opposing MLB pitchers are throwing high velocity at Griffin, with the fastball 60.5% of the pitches he's facing, breaking pitches at 28.5% and offpseed at 11%.
It's not a bad strategy for the pitchers, as one of the most difficult things for a young hitter when they make the major leagues is adjusting to higher velocity pitches and making good contact.
Griffin has recently been better against fastballs and higher velocity pitches overall, with both of his home runs coming off of them.
He hit his first home run off of Milwaukee Brewers right-handed starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff off a four-seam fastball in the 6-0 win in the series opener on April 24. He also hit another single off Woodruff on a sinker and then also hit a cutter for an RBI-single in the top of the eighth inning.
It was the first three-hit game for Griffin in MLB and one that showed his improvement against higher velocity pitches
That continued for Griffin in the next game, as he got two hits off of Brewers right-handed starting pitcher and 2025 All-Star Jacob Misioroswski in the 6-3 win in extra innings on April 25. Those two hits came on a 99.7 mph four-seam fastball and the second a 93.9 mph slider.
Griffin went the next two games without a hit, but got back to producing in the 11-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 28.
He got a hit off of Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Leahy in the bottom of the fifth inning and then leadoff the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo home run off of Matt Svanson, which was another sinker, 97.3 mph
Both pitchers were sinkers, 92.3 mph up and inside off of Leahy and then 97.3 mph over the middle of the plate from Svanson, which he sent 107.4 mph off the bat and 403 feet to right-center field.
Where Griffin Can Improve Going Forward
Most of the success that Griffin is having against higher velocity pitches is coming off of that sinker, where he's hitting .450 and slugging .600. He has also hit the cutter well, batting .333 and slugging .556.
He is still struggling with the four-seam fastball, despite some recent improvements, batting .105 against it and still striking out almost 50% of the time on it.
Griffin hasn't had the success against breaking/offspeed pitches that he probably would want, hitting .192 on breaking pitches and not getting a hit yet on offspeed pitches.
The changeup is particularly a troublesome pitch for Griffin, with no hits in nine plate appearances and a 66.7% strikeout rate.
If he can hit the higher velocity pitches better, as he has done, he should face more breaking and offspeed pitches that will give him even more chances to drive balls deep, scoring runs and adding home runs as well.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.