It’s time to get all aboard the Konnor Griffin hype train. Pittsburgh’s next franchise cornerstone is pounding on the door of the big leagues. The Pirates phenom homered twice Tuesday as Pittsburgh defeated the Red Sox, 16–7, in Grapefruit League action at JetBlue Park.
Griffin entered spring as baseball’s top prospect and, in two swings, showed why. The 19-year-old crushed a hanging curveball from Ranger Suárez, Boston’s top free-agent acquisition this offseason. Griffin’s first homer was crushed it 375 feet over the left-field wall for a two-run homer in the second inning.
His second homer was a mammoth 440-foot blast to left-center off reliever Seth Martinez, who is in Sox camp as a non-roster invitee looking to make the team. The ball left Griffin’s bat at 111.2 mph, soaring into the Florida sky.
“Got some good swings off, so kind of smoked them,” Griffin told reporters following the win.
For the Pirates, the question is whether they’re ready to put a teenager on the Opening Day roster alongside a young core that already includes one of the best pitchers in baseball, Paul Skenes.
Griffin dominated the minors in 2025 and was the consensus Minor League Player of the Year. Across three levels in Pittsburgh’s system, he hit .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs, 23 doubles, four triples, 94 RBIs, 50 walks, 65 stolen bases, and a .942 OPS in 122 games.
The Pirates could slow-play Griffin’s arrival, similar to how they handled Skenes. The former No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft could become one of the few teenagers to crack a Major League roster. If he makes the Opening Day roster — or reaches the majors before his 20th birthday — he would join a rare group that includes Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Andruw Jones, Juan Soto, Alex Rodriguez, Adrián Beltré, and Iván Rodríguez.
Griffin has the makings of a franchise cornerstone. He combines power and speed with strong defense and a plus arm. The Pirates would be taking a calculated risk, but Griffin has the tools to become an immediate impact player.
A potential work stoppage after next season adds another wrinkle. If Griffin starts accruing service time in 2026 and the league were to lose the 2027 season, that’s effectively one fewer year of team control for Pittsburgh. If the Pirates keep Griffin in the minors for a few weeks, and Pittsburgh could secure a seventh year of control by preventing him from earning a full year in 2026.
With Skenes, the Pirates waited until May 2024 to call him up, and he was so dominant that he still won National League Rookie of the Year and earned a full year of service anyway. Had they simply put him on the Opening Day roster, they would’ve landed an extra draft pick through the Prospect Promotion Incentive program.
Griffin is reportedly open to a long-term extension, and if the two sides strike a deal this spring or early in the season, the service-time debate would essentially disappear.
“I fully trust what the front office and the coaches and everybody have done, how they’re going about it,” Griffin said in an interview with ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “They’ve done a great job so far allowing me to be free in the minor leagues and be able to move and continue to face challenges. But this spring, I’m really trying not to think about it too much.
“There’s a lot of noise. I’m just trying to treat it just like I did last spring. I knew I had no chance of just making the big league team. And so every day I was just trying to be a sponge and soak up the advice of these great players who’ve been through it. And I’m trying to do the same thing this year. I know there could be a chance I make the big leagues at some point soon, and that’s great, but I just want to feel ready.”
With Griffin on the doorstep and one of the game’s best arms fronting the rotation, Pittsburgh feels closer than it has in years. Skenes is the headliner, but the pitching depth behind him is real. Bubba Chandler arrived last season and will pitch in the rotation behind Skenes, Mitch Keller is the veteran of the group and remains as steady as they come, and Jared Jones is expected back after Tommy John surgery.
The Pirates didn’t promote Chandler until late August last season, opting to let him continue developing at Triple-A before giving him the green light. Some would argue the delay had as much to do with service-time considerations as development, positioning him to qualify for Super Two status after the 2027 season.
There are still questions around former top prospects that were massively hyped up. Oneil Cruz took a step back offensively last season, a reminder that hype doesn’t guarantee production. Former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis hasn’t delivered at the plate, though he continues to provide value defensively behind it.
General manager Ben Cherington bolstered the roster with veterans — the kind of stabilizing additions he once made before Boston’s 2013 breakout. The Red Sox had David Ortiz to anchor that lineup and it ultimately led to a World Series’ win. In Pittsburgh, Skenes and Griffin have the chance to become the heartbeat of the franchise and a fan base that is dying for a regular playoff contender.
The Pirates added second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna in a busy offseason. Those bats, mixed with Griffin and the club’s young core, give Pittsburgh a lineup that shouldn’t be overlooked. Add in Pirates veteran bat Bryan Reynolds, the Bucs have a solid veteran core.
Pittsburgh also has young outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, acquired from Boston in the five-player deal that sent Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox. Garcia isn’t on Griffin’s level in terms of raw talent, but he has a legitimate shot to break camp with the big club.
He has just seven Major League at-bats, but the power is obvious. Garcia hit 21 home runs with a .470 slugging percentage last season, continuing a pattern of loud contact that’s followed him throughout the minors. At Triple-A, his 90th-percentile exit velocity reached 105 mph — another sign the power should translate.
Garcia never had a clear path to everyday at-bats in Boston, where the outfield is crowded and heavily left-handed. Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, and Jarren Duran either hold roster spots or sit directly ahead of him on the depth chart, leaving little room for him to carve out consistent playing time.
“They did a lot of intriguing things in the offseason,” Alex Cora said last Tuesday. “They added some veterans and they’ve got good pitching — they really do. They play the game hard. They have some big kids in that organization. We saw it; they’re very physical.”
Putting Griffin on the Opening Day roster would be aggressive — and compelling. Baseball needs its next wave of stars on center stage. He has just 563 professional plate appearances and hasn’t played at Triple-A, so there’s risk.
At some point, Skenes could be taking the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series, with Griffin near the top of the lineup. For the Pirates, that vision doesn’t feel far off.
The battle for the No. 5 spot in the Red Sox rotation has become the top storyline in camp, and left-hander Connelly Early has firmly put himself in the mix.
The box score won’t fully capture it, but Early looked electric in relief. He struck out three and generated eight whiffs over 2 2/3 innings. His four-seam fastball touched 97.1 mph in the first inning Saturday after sitting around 94 mph a year ago. The added strength Early added appears to be paying off. Early packed on 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, and the Red Sox hope the extra weight will help him maintain velocity deeper into games and better handle the grind of a full season.
Kutter Crawford and left-hander Patrick Sandoval recently threw live batting practice at Fenway South. It marked Crawford’s first time facing hitters since injuring his wrist last summer, while Sandoval worked multiple innings in a simulated setting for the first time this spring. Sandoval believes he’ll be ready for Opening Day, though his role remains unclear.
Both pitchers could be in the mix to win the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
“I don’t want to say I’m not going to be on Opening Day, I don’t want to say I am going to be on Opening Day, either,” Crawford said. “If I’m not, I don’t think it’s going to be much longer after Opening Day for sure, but I plan on spending the majority of the season with the team.”
“I’m not too far behind, I don’t think,” Sandoval added. “Opening Day should not be out of the question.”
Meanwhile, Franklin Arias will start at
