The Pittsburgh Pirates have a future star on their hands and it’s evident that he’ll be one of the best players in baseball very soon.
Konnor Griffin has quickly become one of the most intriguing young players in the game, and doing what he’s doing at 19 years old is just ridiculous. Still, despite the excitement, the Pirates are taking a smart approach when it comes to his timeline.
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Skipper Don Kelly made it clear the decision isn’t about ability, but it’s about timing. Kelly has to put Griffin in a spot to win at the highest level and while he’s as good as it gets, asking a 19-year-old to do that is very tough.
“He’s unbelievable,” Kelly said, per Dominic Campbell. “He’s 19, he acts like he’s 25 or 30, just the way he carries himself. Really mature. Talent speaks for itself, 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, runs like a deer, power, arm strength, everything that you would want to see, and he’s 19. How do we balance this with development and understanding that he’s only had a 100-ish at-bats in Double-A, none in Triple-A and finding the right time to make it happen and I think the thing that stands out is that maturity level, is that talent and just again, really pumped that he’s a Pirate. When that time comes, it’s gonna be fun.”
The younger has played so well that the team is reportedly looking to sign him to a long-term deal right now.
“The Pirates have discussed a possible long-term extension with Konnor Griffin, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect, a source told MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. The source told Mayo that the details ‘have yet to be hammered out, but the talk has been around a deal for as long as nine years and north of $100 million,’” Jared Greenspan wrote.
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There’s a whole lot that has to go into this. With Griffin doing what he’s done, I don’t hate having him debut early, but if he does, we have to give him some time. There’s a very good chance he’ll struggle early on due to how young he is.