Pirates Finally Get it Right with Konnor Griffin Decision
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't always been right with their prospect call ups to the major leagues, but they did as good as they've done with Konnor Griffin.
Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, made his MLB debut for the Pirates in the home opener vs. the Baltimore Orioles on April 3, getting to play the highest level of baseball in front of a raucous sellout crowd at PNC Park.
It was a great day overall for Griffin, who had an RBI-double in his first at-bat, walked in his second at-bat and made some nice plays at shortstop, where he should feature at for the long term.
Griffin is just 19 years old, and the Pirates used caution with him, but ultimately, bringing him up for the home opener was the right decision.
Why the Pirates Made the Best Decision for Griffin
The Pirates had only drafted Griffin in 2024 with the ninth overall pick out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss., but it was clear he wouldn't spend long in the minor leagues.
Griffin made enough of an impression in his first Spring Training to begin at Single-A Bradenton, and then moved up to High-A Greensboro in June and Double-A Altoona towards the end of August, excelling at each stop he was at.
He hit more than .300 at each level and finished with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases, while leading the minor leagues with 117 runs scored. It also didn't hurt that he won an MiLB Gold Glove Award at shortstop and showed that he could do just about anything asked of him and more.
Griffin also pushed for a spot on the Opening Day roster with his performances in Spring Training, which included a team-high four home runs, but also hit .171, which resulted in him starting at Triple-A Indianapolis.
While starting in the minors wasn't Griffin's desired result, he dominated in the five games he played at Triple-A, slashing .438/.571/.625 for an OPS of 1.196.
That play was a big reason why Pirates general manager Ben Cherington felt it was right to bring him up for the home opener, as he not only looked better from the plate, but makes the team better by being on it going forward in 2026.
"...In Konnor’s case, we didn’t say that to him at the beginning of spring. We also didn’t promise him anything," Cherington said on his radio show. "We were going to learn as much as we could. We got to the end of spring training and it just felt like, maybe pressing a little bit, just didn’t feel like timing was right, so he starts in Triple-A and obviously five games in Triple-A is not a lot, but I think we saw him settle into his at-bats, take a breath.
"So it came back to, ‘What’s best for the team?’, ‘Does this improve the team?’ and then combined with that, you have to think about, alright with Konnor or any player, but specifically with Konnor, are we confident that his development can continue at the major league level?
"He doesn’t have to dominate at the major league level right away, but we have to be confident that it can continue at the major league level, that he’s going to continue to make strides, that there’s going to be adversity. There’s going to be tough days, everybody gets punched in the face at the major league level. It’s gonna happen.
"Faith in Konnor to fight through that, for us to fight through that around him. So the combination of that stuff, really throughout spring, but then recently, led to that decision.”
What Griffin Has Shown So Far and Will Need to Show in 2026
Griffin only had one hit in nine at-bats in the entire series vs. the Orioles, but did draw two walks and got hit by a pitch, giving him a .333 on-base percentage.
The Pirates will hope that Griffin finds consistency at the plate and starts hitting against major league pitching, but they'll have confidence he can turn it around and show the contact and power he did in the minor leagues.
Griffin has been solid defensively, making some impressive plays with his arm and glove and looks clearly ready for the shortstop role going forward.
His speed also will put him up with the best base stealers in the game when he starts getting on base more, as he reached 29.4 feet per second on the run he scored on a single after his double, just getting in ahead of the tag.
The Pirates have exercised caution with some of their better prospects before, like not having right-handed pitchers in Paul Skenes make his debut until May 2024 and Bubba Chandler until August 2025, but Griffin is a different story than these two players.
Griffin is a position player and less likely to get injured, plus, gives the Pirates an every day player that will provide in numerous ways, even with some struggles so far.
Skenes and Chandler being pitchers makes it a bit more difficult in how you approach their call-ups, but they showed they were completely ready when they debuted, perhaps showing the Pirates they should've been up earlier.
Griffin doesn't turn 20 years old until April 24, but the Pirates made the right decision to make him their starting shortstop now, as they push for their first postseason appearance in a decade.
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.