One at-bat in live batting practice can only tell you so much. Except, perhaps, when the hitter is 19 and the pitcher is arguably the best on the planet.<\/p>\n
Shortstop Konnor Griffin, baseball\u2019s top prospect<\/a>, flew out in his first BP at-bat against Paul Skenes. He struck out on three expertly placed fastballs without even swinging in his second.<\/p>\n The third at-bat was the one Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly was still talking about days later. Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, acknowledged it, too.<\/p>\n The moment was one of many that has the Pirates thinking they might not just have one unicorn in Skenes, but another in Griffin as well.<\/p>\n A right-handed hitter facing the game\u2019s most dominant right-handed pitcher, Griffin worked the count to 3-2. He then pulled what Kelly called \u201ca bullet\u201d to left field.<\/p>\n Depending on the left fielder\u2019s positioning in an actual game, maybe it would have been a hit, maybe not. The adjustment is what caught Kelly\u2019s attention. Rather than get jumpy or overly aggressive, Griffin settled into the at-bat like a 10-year veteran.<\/p>\n Skenes said he wasn\u2019t necessarily impressed Griffin got to his two-strike slider, even though it was a pitch he executed to his satisfaction. What impressed Skenes was the advanced approach of a kid who doesn\u2019t turn 20 until April 24.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason he took three fastballs is because he was looking for something else, I guess, in the first live BP of spring training,\u201d Skenes said. \u201cHe had his goals in what he was going into the \u2018live\u2019 to do, and he did them. It\u2019s really easy when you\u2019re facing me or another really good arm to get outside of your approach, and he didn\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n The at-bat was just the start of Griffin\u2019s spring, a spring in which he is the talk of Florida, a spring that might be remembered as the dawning of baseball\u2019s next superstar.<\/p>\n Griffin, the ninth pick of the 2024 draft out of Jackson Preparatory School in Flowood, Miss., is a threat to make the Pirates\u2019 Opening Day roster in just his second year as a professional.<\/p>\n He played in only 122 games last season, only 21 above Class A. Yet, teammates and opponents alike express astonishment at his maturity, his baseball instincts and above all, his immense talent.<\/p>\n New Pirates first baseman Ryan O\u2019Hearn jokes that Griffin, listed at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, was \u201cbuilt in a lab.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see a 19-year-old. He is a grown man,\u201d O\u2019Hearn said. \u201cThe way that his body is, the way that he moves \u2026 I have taken some feeds at first from him throwing at shortstop \u2013 electric arm. I watched his batting practice. I think we are running out of baseballs.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin, in his first Grapefruit League game Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, struck out twice on fastballs. The next day, in a split-squad game against the Philadelphia Phillies, he went 0-for-3, a misleading boxscore line if there ever was one.<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s second out was a 105.6-mph shot to center that might have gone for a homer, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said, \u201cif the wind wasn\u2019t blowing in a million miles an hour.\u201d His third out was a 109.1-mph opposite-field bolt that nearly buckled the Phillies\u2019 right fielder.<\/p>\n The Phillies\u2019 Bryce Harper, who knows something about teenage phenoms, spoke only two words when asked for his impression of Griffin.<\/p>\n \u201cStud, man.\u201d<\/p>\n What stood out?<\/p>\n \u201cDemeanor. Big leaguer,\u201d Harper said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even have to think about it. You can tell, the way he presents himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s physical tools are extraordinary, as evidenced last season by his combined .333 batting average, .941 OPS and 65 stolen bases in 78 attempts. For veteran players forever wary of prospects hyped as the next big thing, his even-keeled, respectful nature only adds to his appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t even think he\u2019s 19 if you went up and actually talked with him,\u201d new Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe said.<\/p>\n Pirates third base coach Tony Beasley said he sees a \u201csmooth confidence\u201d in Griffin, as opposed to arrogance or cockiness. The teenage Harper, whom Beasley managed with the Washington Nationals\u2019 Double-A affiliate in 2011 and Triple A team in \u201812, carried himself differently.<\/p>\n \u201cHarper was more abrasive and out front,\u201d Beasley said. \u201c(Griffin) is more reserved, almost like an Andruw Jones approach.<\/p>\n \u201c(Jones) always had that smile on his face, like, \u2018I kind of know what\u2019s coming.\u2019 (Griffin) has got those type of qualities. I love how he goes about his business for a young kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly does, too.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that you would want a young player to be, that is what Konnor is,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n Now, fast forward to Griffin\u2019s third Grapefruit League game, Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox \u2013 his best yet.<\/p>\n In the second inning, the Red Sox\u2019s $130 million left-hander, Ranger Su\u00e1rez, threw Griffin a hanging curveball on a 2-1 count. Griffin hit the ball out of the Red Sox\u2019s spring home, Jet Blue Park, for a two-run, 104.8-mph homer.<\/p>\n In the fourth, Griffin crushed another homer out of the park with his hardest-hit ball of the spring, a 111.2-mph shot off an 0-2 sweeper by right-hander Seth Martinez.<\/p>\n Konnor Griffin \u2026 WOW \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n MLB’s No. 1 prospect goes yard AGAIN! pic.twitter.com\/F1VTJnWlWB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MLB (@MLB) February 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Red Sox manager Alex Cora later would say, \u201cI was impressed by his physicality and how well he moves for his size.\u201d But Cora was struck by something else as well.<\/p>\n In the sixth, the Red Sox finally retired Griffin, on a slow roller to third. Watching the kid bust down the line, Cora\u2019s admiration for him only grew.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a ballplayer right there,\u201d Cora said.<\/p>\n The danger with any young player is that he will get overwhelmed by the major-league travel and schedule. Minor leaguers play six-game series in one locale, are off every Monday and usually get one scheduled day off a week as well. The difference in the caliber of baseball between Triple A and the majors also has never been greater \u2013 and Griffin has yet to even play at Triple A.<\/p>\n Lowe, however, sees Griffin as the type of prospect who can cope with the inevitable failure even superstars experience. Beasley, who has been in pro ball as a player, coach and manager for most of the past 35 years, also views Griffin as someone who can handle the learning curve.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not an up-and-down guy. He\u2019s a flat-liner, which is really good,\u201d Beasley said, referring to Griffin\u2019s emotional makeup. \u201cHe\u2019s got a baseball mind. He\u2019s got some savviness for a 19-year-old that you just don\u2019t see too often, the ability to recognize and adjust, without panic.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the game will test you. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be tested in ways that he hasn\u2019t been. But I think he\u2019ll respond, not react. There\u2019s a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n OK, time to slow down.<\/p>\n As excited as the Pirates are about Griffin, they are mindful he is only 19. They want to nurture him, protect him and make sure they develop him properly.<\/p>\n Using age 20 1\/2 as a cutoff, Baseball America\u2019s J.J. Cooper determined only four players<\/a> in the past 40 years reached the majors with Griffin\u2019s combination of youth and inexperience.<\/p>\n The four, who, like Griffin, had 130 or fewer minor-league games and 575 or fewer plate appearances were Harper, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Juan Soto \u2013 one Hall of Famer, two likely Hall of Famers and one who would have been a lock if not for his use of performance-enhancing drugs.<\/p>\n