Pirates' Konnor Griffin tops off remarkably fast rise with consensus honor

While the Pittsburgh Pirates' 2025 season has been dismal, one positive is that they still have some very impressive prospects emerging from their farm system, led by 2024 first-round pick Konnor Griffin. With young Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony recently graduating from prospect status, Konnor Griffin has taken the title of the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline’s, and soon-to-be Baseball America’s, rankings. 

There’s a good reason why Griffin is the newest number one prospect in all of baseball. Griffin’s first year in professional baseball has gone just as well as it possibly could have. In 361 plate appearances between A-Ball Bradenton and High-A Greensboro, Griffin has a .324/.400/.511 triple-slash. He has an 8.6% walk rate and 21.3% K%. All season long, Griffin has been a threat to go yard and swipe a base. He has 13 dingers on the season with a .187 isolated slugging percentage. On the basepaths, he’s gone an impressive 42-for-51 in stolen base attempts. Overall, he has a .424 wOBA and 154 wRC+.

Griffin has simply been one of the best minor-league hitters this season. He is one of just eight batters with a .300/.400/.500 triple-slash through at least 300 plate appearances. Among those eight, he is the youngest, as he turned 19 in late April. He is also the youngest minor-league batter with at least a 150 wRC+ (again, in 300+ PA’s). Only seven total minor leaguers have a batting average over .320, and Griffin is the only one who is still a teen. 

Pirates' Konnor Griffin named top prospect in MLB for good reason

Griffin’s high upside with the bat isn’t the only thing that makes him the new consensus number one prospect in the game. He is a potential future Gold Glove defender at two positions. Griffin has primarily played shortstop this season, but has seen over 100 innings in center field. Both are viable positions for him in the long term. Griffin is a potential plus defender at both positions, and was a two-way star in high school, touching mid-90s with his fastball. That arm strength is translating onto the field, as he is making powerful throws from deep in the hole at shortstop, and keeping runners from advancing on hits to center field.

The only things to possibly criticize Griffin for are his hit tool and the fact that he hasn’t been tested at Double-A yet. However, given that Griffin is striking out less and walking more frequently at Greensboro than he did at Bradenton, and his hit tool still projects as average, his performance so far is demanding at least a cup of coffee at Altoona before the year ends. Any criticism is more nitpicking than truly worrying concerns about Griffin.

There haven’t been many positive things to say about the Pittsburgh Pirates recently, so it is a breath of fresh air to see Konor Griffin doing so well and improving his game so much to the point where he is the consensus number one prospect in all of baseball. It's an impressive jump in rankings, as MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 43 at the start of the year, and Baseball America didn't even have him in the top 50. It is the first time a Pirates prospect has ever been ranked No. 1 by either Pipeline or BA. Griffin is looking like a huge steal, as he wasn’t even a top-five pick; the Bucs selected him ninth overall. Hopefully, Griffin can develop into the player his potential suggests he can become. If he reaches his ceiling, he is a potential 30/30 threat with excellent defense at two premium, up-the-middle positions, and that’s something the Pirates could really use in their lineup by the end of 2026.