Pirates have a Konnor Griffin dilemma they might not actually need to solve

The Pittsburgh Pirates may have a Konnor Griffin problem soon. The funny thing is, it might be the kind of problem they shouldn’t be in any hurry to fix.

Tuesday night at Chase Field, Griffin extended his hitting streak to seven games with a missile off the top of the center-field wall — a 110.1 mph double that traveled 415 feet and would’ve been a home run in 25 ballparks, including PNC Park. The ball exploded off his bat with the kind of authority that keeps reminding everyone this is a player beginning to look comfortable in the majors.

That naturally leads to the next question: how much longer is he going to stay buried in the bottom half of the lineup?

Griffin hit sixth Tuesday — a slight bump up from eighth — but that already feels temporary. The issue is that there’s no obvious answer for how the Pirates should rearrange things because, for once, the top of the order is actually functioning.

You’re not moving Oneil Cruz — not with the power surge, the improved at-bats against lefties and the way he changes games from the leadoff spot. You’re not bumping Nick Gonzales, who has arguably been the Pirates’ most consistent hitter all season and their best run producer with runners in scoring position. Bryan Reynolds isn’t moving. Neither are Brandon Lowe or Ryan O'Hearn.

That leaves Marcell Ozuna as the easy fan answer. And yes, you could absolutely make the argument that Griffin should eventually hit ahead of him. But after spending $12 million on him in the offseason, the Pirates are going to give him the longest leash possible to figure things out.

Honestly, the best move for the Pirates may be to leave the lineup alone the way it is — because it's finally starting to develop rhythm.

Pirates don't need to force Konnor Griffin higher in the batting order just because he's ready for it

There’s a tendency in baseball to assume every young star has to immediately climb into the top three spots in the order the second they prove they belong. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes the better move is restraint.

Right now, Griffin is thriving without the added pressure of carrying the offense. Pitchers still have to navigate Cruz, Gonzales, Reynolds, Lowe and O’Hearn before getting to him. That creates opportunities for Griffin to attack mistakes instead of constantly hitting in traffic against a bullpen’s best matchup arms.

And perhaps most importantly, it’s working. The Pirates don’t need to force the timeline simply because Griffin looks ready for it.

If the current lineup construction keeps producing runs and Griffin keeps punishing baseballs from the sixth spot, the Pirates may realize they don’t actually have a dilemma at all. They may already have the perfect setup.

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