Pirates promoting 19-year-old Konnor Griffin, MLB's top prospect

Jesse Yomtov and Steve Gardner, USA TODAY Thu, April 2, 2026 at 5:41 PM UTC

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Pirates promoting 19-year-old Konnor Griffin, MLB's top prospect

The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, the team revealed on Thursday morning.

Griffin was named USA TODAY Sports' Minor League Player of the Year in 2025, batting .333 with 21 homers, 94 RBIs, a .941 OPS and 65 stolen bases across 122 games in his first full pro season.

The ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft, Griffin was already off to a blazing start in 2026, going 7-for-16 in five games with Class AAA Indianapolis.

The Pirates play their home opener at PNC Park on Friday, April 3, against the Baltimore Orioles.

Griffin made some early noise in spring training, crushing a pair of long home runs against the Boston Red Sox in one of the Pirates' first exhibition games.

1 / 0Teenager Konnor Griffin makes rare early jump to the big leaguesMar 1, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (75) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

However, he cooled off considerably as the spring progressed and finished with seven hits in 41 at-bats (.171). He also had trouble making consistent contact with 13 strikeouts and only two walks.

That was presumably the reason the Pirates chose to send him to the minors to start the 2026 season. However, his performance at Indianapolis − and just maybe the fact that the Pirates play their home opener on Friday − was enough to convince the front office Griffin is ready to make his MLB debut.

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Konnor Griffin an MLB rarity

When he makes his major league debut, Griffin will do so exactly three weeks before his 20th birthday.

According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, he will become the first teenage position player to appear in the majors since Juan Soto did in 2018 for the Washington Nationals.

At 19 years and 344 days, he will be the youngest position player to appear in an MLB team's first seven games of the season since Andruw Jones did with the Atlanta Braves in 1997 (just barely edging out Adrian Beltre in 1999).

New contract next for Griffin?

The next burning question is whether or not the Pirates will sign Griffin to a long-term contract, as several other MLB teams have done with their top prospects in the past week.

The Seattle Mariners reached an agreement on March 31 with shortstop Colt Emerson, 20, on an eight-year, $96 million contract without him ever taking an at-bat in a major league game.

One day earlier, the Milwaukee Brewers locked up shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt, 21, with an eight-year, $50.75 million contract after he'd played just four games at Class AAA.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pirates' Konnor Griffin promoted: 19-year-old MLB top prospect to PIttsburgh

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