WATCH: Konnor Griffin Blasts Pair of Thunderous Home Runs for Pirates
It took all of three games for Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin to provide the wow factor at spring training.
After going hitless through his first five at-bats of the spring, Griffin belted long home runs in each of his first two at-bats against Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers on Tuesday afternoon.
Griffin, batting seventh, hit a 374-foot two-run home run to left field that left the stadium off Red Sox starter Ranger Suárez in the top of the second inning. Suárez, for what it’s worth had a 3.20 ERA and only allowed 14 home runs in 157.1 innings for the Philadelphia Phillies and joined Boston on a five-year, $130 million deal this offseason.
Two innings, Griffin one-upped his first long ball of the game. The 19-year-old belted a LOUD solo home run to left-center field off right-hander Seth Martinez. The blast measured a whopping 440 feet and had an exit velocity of 111 mph. Just listen to the sound the ball makes jumping off his bat.
In his third plate appearance of the game, Griffin brought home a run on a groundout to third base, giving him four RBI and the Pirates a 7-1 lead.
Griffin, who has already emerged as the consensus top prospect in baseball after the Pirates took him with the ninth pick in the 2024 draft, hit .333 with a .941 OPS, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBI and 65 steals in his first professional season across three minor-league levels last season.
Griffin is in competition to start at shortstop for the Pirates on Opening Day against the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.
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