Pittsburgh Penguins top prospect shortstop Konnor Griffin was the number one overall prospect in all of baseball at the end of the 2025 season. Griffin is getting a serious look by the Pirates in spring training. There is a good chance that he could be on the opening day if he continues to impress.
During the 2025 minor league baseball season, he had a .333 batting average with 21 home runs and 94 RBIs, along with 65 stolen bases. His on-base percentage was .415. His OPS was .942. Griffin is just 19 years old. It is very rare for a teenager to be in the MLB so soon, but there is no question that he can be with the Pirates early on in the 2025 MLB season.
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Pittsburgh Pirates Fans Impressed With Konnor Griffin During Spring Training
There are a lot of Pirates fans who are impressed with him during spring training. He has been hitting baseballs out of the ballpark during live batting practice. Pittsburgh fans had to comment on Twitter about how they feel about his performance so far.
One fan said about his performance, “This is really cool angle of Konnor Griffin’s swing…. It really captures what is so special about hitting with the muscles of motor tract 1 on both sides of the body….. The pronator teres pulls the right arm rearward while the left digiti minimi simultaneously pulls the left arm rearward…. It doesn’t feel like your hands are working backwards when you are hitting though…. It just feels like you are waiting for the ball to arrive and when it does you just hit it….. If you set your body up to work perfectly it will.”
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Another Pittsburgh fan said, “I’m as excited as everyone else when it comes to Konnor Griffin, but let’s tamp it down with the batting practice excitement. Especially off a jugs machine.”
It is true that Griffin has also hit off the jug machine and he smoked a ton of baseballs off of his bat. Another fan said, “During my almost 50yrs of spring trainings, I’ve seen a lotta “phenoms”. Many, if not most of them flopped. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like Konnor Griffin. I’ve heard some interesting comments from some very respected old timers.”
If Griffin is gaining this kind of hype and praise from other people, then it goes to show that he is the real deal. He played for three different minor league teams last season. His last stop was with the Altoona Curve in Double-A. There is a good chance he starts the 2026 MLB season in Pittsburgh with the Pirates and not with the Indianapolis Indians in Triple-A.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Other Sports section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.