Konnor Griffin hype just reached new level with bold FanGraphs evaluation

Some prospect write-ups read like routine homework. This one reads like a double take — the kind that makes you re-check the header, re-check the rank, and wonder when FanGraphs started talking about a teenager like he’s a franchise cornerstone.

The North Shore Nine podcast summed it up the only way you really can: FanGraphs dropped its 2026 Top 100 list, and the Konnor Griffin write-up is “BANANAS.” 

The part that should hit Pirates fans right away isn’t just that Griffin is ranked No. 1. It’s the tone of the entire approach. FanGraphs didn’t write him up like a typical “future everyday regular with upside” prospect. They wrote him up like a Pittsburgh sports event.

Pirates’ Konnor Griffin evaluation from FanGraphs is a jaw-dropping escalation

FanGraphs ranks Griffin first and treats him like more than a No. 1 prospect, placing him in the small, rare tier of the very best talents they’ve evaluated in their modern era.

And then the comps come out. FanGraphs frames Griffin as a “franchise-altering entity” and says his talent “rivals” Bobby Witt Jr., Hanley Ramirez (with a very specific “young, level-headed” qualifier), or a faster Carlos Correa. That is an absurd sentence to attach to a 19-year-old in your system, and it’s even more absurd when you remember Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a market that gets this kind of prospect romance on a regular basis. 

Comps like that are usually the end of a hype cycle. The part where the baseball internet gets a little carried away and you start seeing expectations morph into demands. FanGraphs is basically skipping that stage and dropping the ceiling comparison right into the official write-up.

FanGraphs even leans into the visual of it. They compare his 6’4”, 225-pound build to that of NFL wide receiver A.J. Brown, then immediately connect his strength to tangible changes in his swing. 

The hype is ridiculous. But that’s the point of the write-up: Griffin doesn’t just project as a good big leaguer — he’s being framed as the kind of player who can become the player.

Which brings us to the most Pirates part of this entire conversation: what happens if the hype is right?

Because if you take FanGraphs at face value, Griffin isn’t just joining Paul Skenes on the “reason to watch” list. He’s making an argument to eventually share the top line of the roster’s identity. That’s the new level here. 

The audacity is that FanGraphs is basically telling us: start thinking bigger than that.