Konnor Griffin Praises Pirates for 2025 Season
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PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin had a sensational 2025 season and flourished in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system.
Griffin joined the Pirates as the ninth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss. and became the best prospect in baseball within a year.
His play has not only gotten him recognition from the baseball world, but may give him a chance at making the Pirates' Opening Day roster as the starting shortstop.
Griffin is readying for a big 2026 campaign, but no one will forget how impressive he was in his first year of professional baseball.
Konnor Griffin Praises Pirates
Griffin spoke on MLB Network Radio about his 2025 season and how he grew throughout the entirety of it.
He gave praise to the Pirates organization for moving him up when he showed he was ready and also improving him as a hitter.
Griffin is also ecstatic for next season and how the rest of the Pirates' farm system will do.
"My first year with the Pirates has been awesome," Griffin said. "I don't know what other teams are like. They've kind of given me every opportunity to grow. They've put me out there. Whether I'm doing good or doing bad, they're gonna give me opportunities. The development side has been really good. I've really learned a lot about myself as a hitter and I've had a lot of help from the Pirates' hitting department.
"Everybody's been great so far. They haven't held me back. When I'm ready to move a level, they kind of shoot me to the next level and let me try to figure that out.
"It's been a really good first go. I'm super excited for what's to come. We have a really cool farm system, a lot of really different players. It's really exciting and I'm really looking forward to see what the Pirates do in the future."
2025 Timeline for Konnor Griffin
Griffin impressed in Big League camp at Spring Training in 2025, which started him out with Single-A Bradenton.
He starred for the Marauders, slashing .338/.396/.536 for an OPS of .932, with 49 runs, 70 hits in 207 at-bats, 111 total bases, 10 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 26 stolen bases on 30 attempts, 36 RBI and 15 walks to 53 strikeouts in 2025.
Griffin ranked amongst the best hitters in the Florida State League, leading with 207 at-bats, plus total bases, runs, hits and batting average, ranking second in home runs, stolen bases and slugging percentage, tied for second in RBIs and OPS and seventh in on-base percentage.
This play earned him promotion to High-A Greensboro on June 10, where he continued his great play.
Griffin slashed .325/.432/.510 for an OPS of .942 in 51 games with the Grasshoppers, with 63 hits in 194 at-bats, 11 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 36 RBIs, 28 walks to 46 strikeouts and 33 stolen bases on 40 attempts.
He had four multi-hit games of his first five contests he played with Greensboro showing his strengths at this level, while also hitting home runs in back-to-back games against the Rome Emperors, the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves on June 14 and June 15.
This earned Griffin South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors for his performances that week, putting him amongst the best in the division early on.
Griffin finished his season with Double-A Altoona, earning his last promotion on Aug. 18.
He kept impressing with the Curve, slashing .337/.418/.542 for an OPS of .960 in 21 games, with 28 hits in 83 at-bats, two doubles, five home runs, 22 RBI, seven walks to 23 strikeouts and six stolen bases on eight attempts.
Griffin hit two home runs in his first career multi-home run game and drove in a career-high seven RBIs in the 14-3 win over the Harrisburg Senators on the road on Aug. 29.
His play also led the Curve into the playoffs, as they won the Second Half Eastern League Southwest Division Title.
He finished the 2025 season with a slash line of .333/.415/.527 for an OPS of .942 in 122 games, 161 hits, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, 50 walks to 122 strikeouts and 65 stolen bases on 13 attempts.
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.