Pirates' Konnor Griffin Named New Number One Prospect
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates young star Konnor Griffin is only in his first full season of professional baseball, but is now the top prospect.
MLB Pipleline moved Griffin up in their recent re-ranking following the 2025 MLB Draft to second overall and after Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony graduated, they made Griffin their No. 1 prospect.
Baseball has a new No. 1 prospect ...
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 24, 2025
Meet 19-year-old Konnor Griffin, the @Pirates' 2024 first-rounder who has made an unprecedented rise to the top spot: https://t.co/5kpelRenck pic.twitter.com/yUO2kkEuYc
The Pirates took Griffin with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss. They signed him for $6,216,600, convincing him to forgo his commitment to LSU.
Griffin starred with Single-A Bradenton, 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 RBIs and 15 walks to 53 strikeouts in 2025.
He ranked amongst the best hitters in the Florida State League in early June, leading with 207 at-bats, plus total bases, runs, hits and batting average, second in home runs, stolen bases and slugging percentage, tied for second in RBIs and OPS and seventh in on-base percentage.
The Pirates promoted Griffin to High-A Greensboro on June 10, and he has performed incredibly well so far in his first month-and-a-half with the team.
He had four multi-hit games of his first five contests he played in at High-A, 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.
Griffin earned South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors for his performances that week, putting him amongst the best in the division early on.
He represented the Pirates at the Futures Game on July 12 at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, featuring the best prospects in baseball, along with Double-A Altoona outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez, who both played for the National League.
Griffin got hit on the hands with a 97.4 mph sinker from American League right-handed pitcher Alimber Santa, which forced him out of the game.
X-rays on his hand came back negative and Griffin spoke to the media about him not being in much pain. He returned to Greensboro after the All-Star break and is back playing now.
Griffin has slashed .296/.408/.463 for an OPS of .871, with 32 hits in 108 at-bats, six doubles, four home runs, 17 RBIs, 16 walks to 24 strikeouts and 16 stolen bases on 21 attempts.
He has played most of his games in 2025 at shortstop, with 53 starts in 54 appearances, while also serving as designated hitter in 13 games and center fielder for 12 games.
The Pirates also have two other top 100 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, including right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler at No. 5 and left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco at No. 72, who both play for Triple-A Indianapolis.
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.