DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: Konnor Griffin in 2026?

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: Konnor Griffin in 2026?

[Music] [Applause] There isn’t a negative syllable to be conceived, much less spoken about Connor Griffin. And believe it or not, that even applies to everybody who acquired and developed him to date. Good morning to you. Good Tuesday morning. I’m Dan Kavajovich of DK Pittsburgh Sports. This is Daily Shot of Pirates. It comes your way bright and early every weekday. If you’re into football andor hockey, I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Penguins in the same place that you found this Griffin. The consensus number one prospect in the entire sport of baseball was named Baseball America’s minor league player of the year. That is not a surprise to say the least. He has been uh beyond remarkable. He’s been brilliant. I think that’s the safest way to summarize what he’s done. It’s in a lot of ways not different than what Paul Skins did through the system except that it had been way way way more universally expected of skins which of course makes it that much more commendable I’d say that Griffin in his first professional season a 2024 first round pick slashed over three levels culminating ating with double Altuna 333, 415, and 527. He hit 21 home runs, stole 65 bases, you heard me right, had 94 RBI’s over 122 games. He’s the only player over the last 24 full minor league seasons, again spanning all levels, to have a season in which he hit at least 300, homerred at least 20 times, stole 60 plus bases, and scored 100 plus runs. Again, this one’s worth the repeat cuz it’s nuts. only player to have done that over the past 20 years anywhere at all in the minor leagues. And if that wouldn’t have gotten your attention, he logged 89 games at shortstop, 15 in center field. Staying at shortstop, that’s something that scouts talk about a lot, especially when an athlete is much, much younger than Griffin. And the context there is, well, he’s at shortstop now, but as he gets to the higher levels, he’ll have to move to this position or that position. Not only is Griffin still at short, a premium position on your diamond, but he also was charged with just seven errors in those 89 games at that position. And I’ll remind people on a regular basis anytime I’m talking about errors in the minor leagues. All baseball people will tell you that the fields in the minors are nowhere near the quality of those in the majors. So, the ball is going to do some more unusual things the lower you go through anyone’s system. All of this is tremendous and all of this is an asteriskfree credit to Ben Cherington, to his scouts, to his development people, to his teammates, to his managers, and of course to the kid himself and his family. It’s positive to the extreme. It’s a dream minor league baseball scenario. And I know you regular listeners are waiting for the big butt. It’s not coming. It’s not coming. Not in this segment. It sure seems like with Griffin having been drafted in 2024, he begins for all intents and purposes his professional career in 2025 ascends through three levels. But even then, dominating each of those three levels by the time he got to double A, it was clear that he was an overmatch for that competition. So, here’s the question that I have today. And I really hope that it’s taken as seriously as the same question would have been related to skins just a couple years ago. What realistically would be too soon or too late to have this extraordinary young man playing in Pittsburgh where the only games that count in the system are being played. Could it happen? Should it happen as soon as you know the start of the 2026 season? Does it matter that he’s only 19 years old? Does it matter that he won’t turn 20 until next April, which will have the Pirates season, of course, already underway? And if it does matter to you, why? Not to get into some grand comparison with other sports, but this isn’t football. He doesn’t put himself at physical risk by taking to the field against much more mature, larger men who could, you know, break him into pieces or something. In hockey, the elite prospects are routinely started out in the NHL, and not all of them are 100% developed physically. certainly not compared to what they end up being once they get into say their 20s. So if I want to go over the top here just for the purpose of this exercise and nothing else and say Sydney Crosby arrived to Pittsburgh at age 18 and there never was a doubt he was going to play right away and he did and he was spectacular. Would you do that in football? No. Would you do it in hockey? Yes. And it happens the handful of prospects right out of the draft every year. So what makes baseball special? Well, baseball has its own quirks on a ton of fronts. So that’s another discussion for another day. Baseball thinks it’s a lot more special than it actually is. But it has seen players in their teens make it to the majors. It has seen players who weren’t even of the caliber of a Miguel Cabrera make it and succeed. Now, not everything has to be linear. The player doesn’t just keep improving and improving and improving. There’s going to be there’s going to be bumps. There’s going to be pauses. There’s going to be injuries. There’s going to be other adversity. There’s going to be things that knock the kid back because unless you’re skins, something’s always going to go wrong for you in baseball. But let’s say that it does. So what? So what? Look at this kid’s makeup. Look at what he’s done to date and tell me why all the usual unwritten rules of baseball should apply to him. You know, like the one and Cherington subscribes to this, by the way, this particular one where evaluators and specifically a GM don’t want to promote someone until they have seen some adversity and shown that they can overcome it. To which I always say, I mean, if you’re really great player, you should just go ahead and suck for a week or two and then go nuts and say, “Hey everybody, look at me. I have overcome.” Cuz if you want to apply all the various baseball rules to how you handle this, then you’d better look at how this kid’s numbers fit in with everything else that we know about this sport. Hint, they don’t. When we come back, J1Q. [Music] If you’re looking for a great dining experience, look no further than Northshore Tavern. Located directly across Federal Street from PNC Park, next door to Mike’s Beer Bar, Northshore Tavern is Pittsburgh’s home for Steak on a stone. Enjoy your steak finished on a hot lava stone in front of you, where you ensure each piece is cooked to exactly your liking. or try their rotating selection of entre, hot sandwiches, salads, and burgers, all while enjoying the ambiance dedicated to the great players and history of the Pittsburgh Pirates all around you. Come see why everyone’s talking about Northshore Tavern and Steak on a Stone. It’s Gun Storage Check Week. Help prevent unwanted access to your firearms. No one wants their unsecured gun to be used in an accident, a suicide, or a crime. Use lock boxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstoch checkck.org. That’s gunstorage check.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the firearm industry trade association. Delete Me, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online. 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And you’re getting legit tickets delivered on time. Now, if you’re not much of a planner, you can get lastminute deals on tickets right up to the start of the event. Lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you 110% of the difference. Download the Game Time app and enter the code DK Pirates in your app profile for $20 off your first purchase. [Music] Today’s J1Q was one of many that responded to yesterday’s show led by Ben Cherington acknowledging over the weekend that Bob Nutting has not told him he’ll be back for the 2026 season. He also hasn’t told him the opposite. He hasn’t told him anything. And Rick shares this observation, saying, “It seems appropriate DK to reminisce that in Cherington’s first calendar year on the job as general manager of the Pirates, he traded deep breath here. Stling Marte, Josh Bell, Jameson Tyion, Jacob Stallings, Richard Rodriguez, Tyler Anderson, Klay Holmes, and Adam Frasier. Four deeper breath. Brennan Malone, Leo Ver Pagarro, Will Crowe, David Bednar, Hudson Head, Drake Fellows, Omar Cruz, Rowanzi Contrarus, Miguel Yur, Kanan Smith, Njigba, Michael Escato, Jack Suinski, Tukapita Marano, Mitchell Milliano, never even heard of that one, Hoy Park, Diego Castillo, Carter Bins, Wen Tahada, Bryce Wilson, Ricky Devito, Zack Thompson, and Connor Scott. All that will likely be left after this season to show for all of this in the Pirate system are Kyle Nicholas, Andy Rodriguez, and Eddie Yeen. Yeen is going to be a minor league free agent this winter. So other than Richard Rodriguez, every player that Cherington traded away is still in the majors still all these years later, a half a decade later. And of all those other names, this is me now, not Rick. Of everyone that came, Bednar was really the only player. Rick concludes by saying, “It is hard to fail that badly.” And that frequently I I can’t come up with anything more damning to say than what you just did, Rick. And I find myself occasionally surprised that amid a real and excellent success story like the one I just covered in the opening segment, a true and legit wherever it is that they go on to be employed feather in everyone’s cap who was involved in the Connor Griffin story to date. For every time that comes up, for every time somebody mentions starting pitching and having the handful of legitimately promising starting pitchers that are here, that they completely lose the forest for the trees, which is that Cherington was brought to Pittsburgh to do this what you’re describing first and foremost. He was tasked with taking what Bob Nutting and everybody correctly felt were some pretty nice assets. Not extraordinary, but Bell was coming off the best season of his career with a zillion home runs. Marte was still a player, very much a player. Frasier was contending for the batting title. And it was all just just thrown into the trash. That of course was just the beginning. I appreciate hearing from you, Rick. I always do. I appreciate everyone who listens to Daily Shot of Pirates. Six games to go. Yan Ovido takes the mound tonight in Cincinnati. Three with the Reds, three with the Braves, and then, you know, do what’s got to be done. Let’s hook up again tomorrow. [Music]

Could Konnor Griffin really arrive by next summer?

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