The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of talented prospects in their farm system, including two pitching prospects ranking in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects.
Bubba Chandler, the Pirates’ top prospect, is the No. 15 prospect on MLB Pipeline, and the No. 2 pitching prospect. He is nearly ready to move up to the big leagues, which will leave shortstop Konnor Griffin as Pittsburgh’s top prospect.
Griffin was the Pirates’ first-round draft pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft and is ranked No. 50 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list despite not taking the field since being drafted.
MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis predicts that Griffin will quickly ascend the minor league rankings once he takes the field in the Spring.
“Signed for $6,532,025 by the Pirates as the No. 9 overall selection, Griffin could climb toward the very top of the Top 100 if he gets off to a hot start when he makes his pro debut this spring,” Callis writes. “He has well above-average raw power and speed and offers quality defense at premium positions, so he’ll be a superstar if the bat plays.”
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“It all comes down to how much Griffin hits. He had the highest ceiling in the 2024 Draft as a potential 30-30 guy who could provide plus defense at shortstop or win Gold Gloves in center field. But he also was a polarizing prospect because some teams had serious concerns about the characteristics of his right-handed swing and whether it would translate well to pro ball.”
Griffin was the first high school player taken in the 2024 draft and batted .559 in his final year in high school in which he won the Gatorade National Player of the Year. If he lives up to his potential as a hitter, then Pittsburgh may have found its shortstop of the future.
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