When the Pittsburgh Pirates saw that Konnor Griffin was available at the No. 9 pick in the MLB Draft on Sunday night, their war room erupted in celebration that they could draft the prospect considered to have the highest ceiling.
The Pirates used their first-round selection Griffin, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound shortstop from Jackson Prep in Florence, Miss., who won Gatorade National Player of the Year honors despite reclassifying. Griffin was the first prep player selected and one of three high school prospects picked by the Pirates on the draft’s first day. The Pirates have a draft bonus pool of $14,000,500, and the No. 9 pick has a slot value of $6,216,600.
“We’re absolutely excited to draft Konnor. He’s an incredible athlete, honestly, a potential five-tool superstar at the highest level, with some of the biggest upside in the whole draft,” Pirates amateur scouting director Justin Horowitz said. “As talented of a kid that Konnor is on the baseball field, he’s an even more incredible human being. He’s someone we believe in as a leader and someone who’s going to impact the community as well. We’re really grateful to have the opportunity to draft Konnor.”
An LSU recruit, Griffin batted .559 with nine home runs, 39 RBIs, 87 stolen bases and 76 runs scored in leading Jackson Prep to its seventh consecutive state title. The right-hander also was 10-0 with an 0.72 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings, but is expected to concentrate on being a position player as a professional.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Griffin can play shortstop or center field but will start his professional career with his glove on the dirt.
Asked for a preference, Griffin said he’s comfortable at either position but his “fit may be better in the outfield. It’s whatever is going to help the Pirates win. That’s most important.”
MLB Pipeline draft analyst Jim Callis called Griffin the “best high school player” and said he has the “highest ceiling” in the draft, despite a hit tool that had some scouts concerned.
“This guy has 30-30 potential. He can be a plus-shortstop. He can be a center fielder. He can be an absolute monster,” Callis said on MLB Network. “I love when teams go for ceiling, especially when you’re picking ninth. We might look back and go, ‘How did that guy last nine picks?’”
Baseball America draft analyst Carlos Collazo agreed, noting that Griffin has four tools — arm, fielding, power and running — that drew grades of 60 or higher on the 20-80 scouting scale and called it a “great pick on value, in terms of the upside shot.”
“I do think he has highest pure upside in this class,” Collazo said on MLB Network. “If he hits, he’s going to be a superstar. The hit tool is the biggest question, and the hit tool is probably the reason he wasn’t selected top-five or even No. 1 overall. It’s not that it’s a bad hit tool. It’s just that the swing is a little unorthodox; at times he wasn’t the best performer. His spring season was phenomenal. He stacks up with some of the best pure athletes we’ve had in the past.”
The selection came as something of a surprise, considering the Pirates were projected in most mock drafts to pick a college hitter to provide offensive support after the emergence of rookie right-handers Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, who will start for the National League in the All-Star Game on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Instead, they passed on outfielders Braden Montgomery of Texas A&M and James Tibbs III of Florida State to become the first team to take a high school player. They also chose Griffin over another prep shortstop, Bryce Rainer of Harvard-Westlake (Calif.), who is regarded as a better hitter and was taken 10th by the Detroit Tigers. Montgomery went 12th to the Boston Red Sox and Tibbs 13th to the San Francisco Giants.
“Just for the Pirates to take a chance on me, it just showed you they were a great organization,” Griffin said on a video conference call. “They trust their guys. They trust their process. They could have very easily taken a college guy and had them there in a year or two. It may take two years, three years for me to get through the program, but that’s what they’re about. They’re about having a farm system and watching players grow over the years. It’s going to be fun to see what happens. I’m ready to take on the journey and compete and work super hard to get to the big leagues as fast as I can.”
While Horowitz acknowledged that “there definitely was a narrative surrounding Konnor’s hit tool in the industry,” he said the Pirates believe in Griffin’s ability to make contact.
“He doesn’t swing and miss much at all,” Horowitz said.
“We think there’s even more upside with some of the potential adjustments that he could make in a professional player development environment, minor tweaks to his swing or certain things that might help him get to a little bit more consistent impact. But, overall, we do not have serious hit tool concerns on Konnor Griffin. If that was the case, we would not have selected him. We’re confident Konnor is going to be a very talented hitter and is going to tap into some power and round out his game in an effective way.”
Griffin is the second prep prospect selected in the first round by the Pirates under Cherington. They took second baseman Termarr Johnson at No. 4 in 2022. Their other first-round picks were second baseman Nick Gonzales of New Mexico State (No. 7 in 2020), catcher Henry Davis of Louisville (No. 1 in 2021) and Skenes of LSU (No. 1 in 2023).
Griffin said he plans to bypass college and sign with the Pirates.
“I was glad to hear my name called with the Pirates. What a great organization,” Griffin said. “The Pirates are headed in the right direction. I’m excited to hop on board. Hopefully, I can get things rolling soon.”
