Konnor Griffin has no shortage of tools that can lead to success in the Majors.
He’s got elite speed, which led to 87 stolen bases during his senior year at Jackson Prep in Mississippi.
He has an elite arm, with the ability to throw mid-90s off the mound.
Griffin has a 6′ 4″, 210 pound frame which projects for plus power from the right side.
On the field, he projects to either be a plus defensive shortstop, or a potential Gold Glove winner in center field.
The Pirates drafted Griffin with the ninth overall pick, and in doing so, they may have landed one of the most talented players in the draft, and one of few five-tool potential players in the first round.
The question will be can they develop him to his high ceiling?
Griffin was named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year this season, excelling as a two-way player. He hit .559/.690/.966 with nine homers at the plate. He was a terror on the bases. On top of that, he put up an 0.72 ERA in 67.2 innings pitched, with a 107:26 K/BB ratio.
A three-sport athlete until this season, Griffin dropped football and basketball to focus exclusively on baseball. He saw his game take a jump forward in the process.
It makes you wonder how he might fare with an even narrow focus, cutting out the pitching work to focus exclusively on being a hitter.
Griffin has plenty of plus tools, but will need to develop his hit tool in order to realize his massive upside. The downside here is that the Pirates don’t have a great track record at developing hitting prospects.
What’s interesting about Griffin is that he has a completely opposite profile of most of the hitters the Pirates have taken in the past. They tend to draft high contact hitters, with the hope of developing power. Griffin has plus power potential, with the need to develop contact.
Griffin has said that he’s open to playing shortstop or center field. He has a good makeup, and has already shown an ability to improve his swing. If the Pirates lock him in to one position and focus on developing the bat, he could emerge as one of the best prospects in the game. That assumes they can successfully develop the hit tool.
If the hitting side fails, Griffin is 18-years-old and has a plus fastball and plus curveball combo, with average control. He could have a second prospect life as a pitcher. The Pirates are better off hoping his elite arm and speed combo can play in center field — where they don’t really have any standout prospects in the system.
A Prep Pitcher at 37
With their competitive balance pick at 37 overall, the Pirates drafted right-handed pitcher Levi Sterling. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft, turning 18 in September. Despite the age, he’s got a huge frame at 6′ 5″, 200 pounds, with plenty of room to fill out.
While the Pirates lack success drafting and developing hitting prospects, they don’t lack results on the pitching side. Their specialty for over a decade has been identifying prep pitchers who can take a step forward in pro ball, and then progressing those players forward.
