{"id":709666,"date":"2026-05-27T00:21:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T00:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/709666\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T00:21:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T00:21:26","slug":"pirates-make-bold-konnor-griffin-decision-ahead-of-cubs-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/709666\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Make Bold Konnor Griffin Decision Ahead of Cubs Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Konnor Griffin has completely revitalized the Pittsburgh Pirates’<\/a> offense since making his debut on April 3.<\/p>\n

Now, the Pirates are making a major change to their lineup. Griffin will move into the leadoff role for the first time ahead of their game against the Chicago Cubs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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It will be Griffin\u2019s first time leading off in the majors. However, the 20-year-old has done it plenty during his brief time in the minor leagues.<\/p>\n

Griffin has quietly been one of the best hitters<\/a> in the majors since being called up. In May, he ranks top 25 among all National League hitters in average (.296), hits (24), doubles (6), runs (16), and stolen bases (5).<\/p>\n

Overall, Griffin is slashing .262\/.321\/.384 with a .705 OPS, three home runs, and 20 RBIs this season.<\/p>\n

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Griffin was unanimously ranked as the best prospect in baseball<\/a> across major ranking outlets. He is a true five-tool player, and the Pirates showed their belief in him early. Pittsburgh signed him to a nine-year, $140 million contract before he even made his major league debut.<\/p>\n

The Pirates hope Griffin can become their leadoff hitter for the next decade-plus as their franchise shortstop.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh has used several different leadoff hitters this season, including Oneil Cruz<\/a>, Nick Gonzales<\/a>, and Spencer Horwitz<\/a>. Still, the Pirates’ offense has been a pleasant surprise. They rank second in hits (467), fifth in runs (258), and fourth in batting average (.249).<\/p>\n

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Along with Griffin\u2019s arrival, the Pirates also added Brandon Lowe<\/a>, Johstynxon Garcia, and Ryan O’Hearn in the offseason. Lowe has been their MVP, while Garcia has impressed in limited time. O’Hearn was also producing before getting injured.<\/p>\n

At 28-26, the Pirates sit 4.5 games out of the National League Central. They now have their best opportunity in over a decade to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Pirates will play the Cubs at home tonight, with Griffin leading off against left-hander Jordan Wicks<\/a>, who is making his season debut. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. EST.<\/p>\n

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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on May 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Konnor Griffin has completely revitalized the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense since making his debut on April 3. Now, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,1751,24,875,9545,1503,4,505,10608,1330,10,776,64,4297,63907,950],"class_list":["post-709666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-baseball","tag-brandon-lowe","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-jordan-wicks","tag-konnor-griffin","tag-major-league-debut","tag-mlb","tag-national-league","tag-nick-gonzales","tag-oneil-cruz","tag-pirates","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-pittsburghpirates","tag-ryan-o39hearn","tag-spencer-horwitz"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116643684894008983","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}