Konnor Griffin’s response to Pirates’ first round draft pick has fans cringing

When the Pittsburgh Pirates selected prep pitcher Seth Hernandez at No. 6 overall in the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday, the right-hander received a special welcome message from the organization's last top pick.

Konnor Griffin, the Pirates' first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft (No. 9) and their current No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, took to social media to congratulate Hernandez on his selection and welcome him to Pittsburgh.

"Let's Go," Griffin posted Sunday on X in response to Hernandez's selection. "Welcome to a great organization!"

But what should have been an innocuous, seven-word message from one first-round pick to another quickly turned into a cringe-worthy commentary on how the Pirates are, in many ways, decidedly not a "great organization."

Konnor Griffin’s response to Pirates’ first round draft pick has fans cringing

The replies from fans to Griffin's congratulatory message to Hernandez said it all.

"This gotta be a joke, right?" said one fan.

"So I see we're throwing the word great around loosely," said another.

These responses, plus the countless others like them, come from an understandably disgruntled fanbase tired of watching nothing but losing baseball for more than three decades. The Pirates have a losing record in nearly 20 years under Bob Nutting's ownership, during which time they have consistently had one of the smallest payrolls in the league.

Even when they are able to draft high-end talent like Griffin, Hernandez or reigning National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes, the Pirates don't show any sense of urgency in building a competitive roster around them. They'll tout their high-level prospects for a few years, praising their own ability to draft and develop, before ultimately trading those same players before they become to expensive.

This cycle continues, year in and year out. And, while the players themselves may get better, the Pirates never do. As Nutting sees it, as long as the club earns him a profit each year – which it always will, thanks to league revenue sharing and deals with broadcast rights holders – winning is secondary.

So, while Griffin's attitude may be "great," the organization that drafted him isn't – and that's certainly not the fault of the players who are in it.

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