Konnor Griffin is Looking Like Baseball’s Next No. 1 Prospect

When the Pirates snagged Konnor Griffin 9th overall in the 2024 draft, his upside was far from a question. A six-foot-four, 215-pound 18-year-old who turns in plus run times and was a legitimate prospect on the mound as well is easy to dream on.

The concern was around the hit tool. He turned in some mixed results on the summer circuit with a swing that lacked rhythm and fluidity. He often looked rushed in the box, fighting his mechanics, but relying on his athleticism to get by.

Now Griffin is starting to show the promise of being one of the top prospects in all of baseball, thanks in large part to the way he has adjusted his swing since going pro.

The Swing Adjustments

Before Griffin played a professional baseball game, he was reworking his swing and adding strength. He spent the 2024 offseason adjusting his setup and engaging his lower half much more effectively in his load while putting on around 15 pounds of lean muscle.

Starting slightly wider with his hands a bit higher, Griffin’s ability to coil into his back side and generate hip-shoulder separation is night and day.

His load previously was more of a “tall and fall” situation, meaning little tension was being created with a heavy move onto the front foot and his hands crowded with nowhere to go other than at a steep angle into the zone.

Griffin starting his load earlier helps him coil into his back side in a slow and controlled manner, getting him to his launch position earlier with the focus on using the ground properly to generate more power.

In addition to looking far less rushed, Griffin’s body is in a better spot to be able to control the barrel and turn it further behind him, getting himself on plane earlier with a much wider margin for contact. Pair a wider contact window with a freak athlete actually using his lower half effectively in his swing and you have a rocket ship.

Beyond how impressive it is for Griffin to implement these changes so effectively in his first pro season, you rarely see a high first-round pick so willing to tinker with mechanics prior to facing any adversity professionally, a testament to the work ethic and makeup.

The Numbers

Starting with the surface level stats, Griffin has been a force to be reckoned with, seemingly getting stronger with each game he adds under his belt.

Between 50 Low-A games and seven High-A games, Griffin has hit to a .345/.404/.559 line (164 wRC+) with 11 home runs, 27 extra base hits, and 32 stolen bases while striking out just 21% of the time.

The underlying data is even more impressive. His 90th percentile exit velocity of 108.5 MPH is one of the best figures in the Minor Leagues for a teenage prospect with a staggering hard hit rate north of 50%. For reference, the average hard hit rate in the Florida State League is 34% in 2025.

If you were just looking at the contact rates and swing decisions, you’d never know Griffin had hit tool concerns heading into his pro debut. His in-zone contact rate is an above average 84% while the overall contact rate sits at 75%. Griffin’s overall chase rate of 23% is good for the lower levels and he has cut into that number as the season has progressed.

From May 1 onward (37 games), Griffin is hitting .387/.443/.581 with a contact rate of 86% within the zone and 79% overall and a chase rate down to 22%. The result has been a strikeout rate that has dwindled to just 16%, while he has compiled 17 extra base hits in that span.

Elite Defense

When Griffin was drafted, there was no doubting that he had the ability to stick at shortstop, but with his size and gazelle-like strides, I liked the fit in center field best long term. He has played both positions in the early going, but with the majority of his starts at shortstop (38) compared to just eight at center field.

He is even more polished at shortstop than anticipated, with a quick first step and soft hands. You almost forget he is now 6-foot-4, 225 pounds with how well he moves laterally and the instincts are already there. He reminds you that he used to get up to the mid 90s on the mound when he needs to cut one loose across the diamond with the comfort to throw from different angles.

Now, I still love Griffin in center field as well. He chews up so much ground so easily, and the jumps are already decent out there with the athleticism to close plays out. What’s somewhat crazy is that Griffin looks so good so quickly in all facets of his game that the Pirates are likely forced to already think about how he fits into the MLB equation, as a 2026 ETA now doesn’t seem far-fetched.

Of course, when you look at the MLB landscape, the only spot that seems to be solidified moving forward is center field with Oneil Cruz looking stronger out there by day.

Baseball’s Next No. 1 Prospect?

Griffin checked in at No. 18 on our top 100 prospect update at the beginning of June, and he has proceeded to hit .463/.516/.722 in the dozen games since, with a majority of those games at High-A. In the early going of the season, Griffin was swinging and missing a bit more against secondaries, but it didn’t take very long for him to put that behind him.

In his first 25 games of the season, Griffin hit just .143/.208/.245 against secondaries with a 54% contact rate. In the 32 games since, the newly-turned 19-year-old is hitting .434/.464/.641 with a contact rate of 74% against non-fastballs.

Most hitters would slow down some as they face higher quality secondaries at High-A, but his improvements continue to prevail regardless of competition, a true sign of an elite prospect whose development outpaces the increased quality of his competition.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to poke a hole in Griffin’s game now that the hit tool looks like it can reasonably be average at the highest level.

With his size, power, athleticism, makeup, improved hitting ability, and defensive value at multiple premium positions, the comparisons to the player he can become are so unfair to him that I am going to keep them to myself until he’s baseball’s top overall prospect.