When Konnor Griffin faced Mason Miller last week, the 19-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates rookie got a clear message that he wasn’t in the minor leagues or playing high school baseball in Mississippi anymore.
The star San Diego Padres closer blew away Griffin with triple-digit heat and a pair of nasty sliders. It was a welcome to the big leagues moment — but Griffin, in just his sixth career game, handled it like he belongs here.
“That was a tough at-bat, but that was a great experience,” Griffin told ESPN. “There’s not many closers that are better than that. It was good for me to jot something down on the notepad and learn from it for the next time.”
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He struck out on five pitches, three of which were over 100 mph. But it was a slider that finished him, proving to be the separator from anything else the game’s newest budding star had seen before.
“Now, I’ve done it,” an undeterred Griffin said. “I have info I can use to my advantage.”
If Griffin sounds more mature than most 19-year-olds, that’s because he is. He’ll need to be, considering the faith the Pirates have put in him: He’s the starting shortstop on a team with some early buzz — and he just signed a nine-year, $140 million contract. But the youngest player in the game is up for the challenge — and continues to impress his teammates as he proves it.
“It’s definitely different being young, but we all have the same jobs,” Griffin said. “When you have that common goal, it doesn’t matter your age or experience; it’s about getting the job done.”
Griffin’s teammates hemmed and hawed when asked for any daily reminders that he’s still just a teenager. His music references? Fast-food orders? A video game obsession? Most players couldn’t recall anything that speaks to his age.
“There’s nothing that’s happened where I’m like, ‘That’s just a kid,'” 31-year-old veteran Bryan Reynolds said. “He has his life together.”
Outfielder Jake Mangum said with a laugh: “The fact that we graduated from the same high school but a decade apart is all the reminder I need. When he walks up to the plate, and they show his date of birth as 2006, it’s just like, ‘Oh my gosh.'”
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Reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes found one thing that spoke to Griffin’s youth: Skenes noted Griffin’s concern about how his teammates would feel after he signed a megadeal before playing an inning in the big leagues.
“That’s something that other people wouldn’t be worried about,” Skenes said with a smile. “Everyone realizes it’s part of the game. That question was kind of funny. That’s a reminder that he hasn’t been here.”
Still, Skenes admitted, even that could be viewed as a mature level of thinking: Griffin cares about his teammates more than many young players might in a similar situation.
“How many people think like that?” Pirates manager Don Kelly asked. “Most are thinking how can I get mine? And he’s thinking about other people as a teammate.”
If you ask those teammates, his maturity is translating to his play at shortstop, even as he continues to find his way at the plate, where he’s 9-for-42 with six RBIs to start his career. Despite a key error in a loss on Thursday, his glovework has been solid.
“His defense has impressed me the most,” veteran first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn said. “He hasn’t done one single thing that I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s 19.'”
Still, Griffin brings a youthful spark to the Pirates that has reached every corner of the clubhouse, even its eldest member, 35-year-old designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.
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“Yesterday, he said, ‘Let me rub your head’ to get a hit,” Ozuna recalled with a laugh. “I said, ‘OK.’ His energy reminds me of when I was his age.”
Before a game at Wrigley Field last weekend, Griffin was asked when he most feels his age.
“Actually, when they were showing [former Cub] Ben Zobrist clips [on the scoreboard],” Griffin said. “That reminded me of sitting on the couch watching him in the World Series. It’s pretty crazy playing on that same field now.”
Griffin was 9 years old when Chicago and Cleveland faced off in the 2016 World Series. In a that-will-make-you-feel-old moment, Griffin — who will turn 20 next Friday — said it’s the first World Series he can remember watching.
Skenes said the team will “do something” for Griffin’s birthday, but isn’t sure what to get a 20-year-old.
“You don’t get him booze,” Skenes said, laughing. “We’ll do that in a year.”
Griffin is breaking into the major leagues at a time when the Pirates might make some noise in the NL.
It has been more than a decade since Pittsburgh reached the playoffs, frustrating its fan base and bringing criticism to owner Bob Nutting. A mini spending spree this winter, combined with the addition of Griffin and the greatness of Skenes, has brought hope to the Steel City. Off to a good start, the Pirates are building confidence.
“It’s definitely the best team we’ve had,” Reynolds said. “I feel like we’ve had some good starts in the past but just kind of a fluke more than anything. This team is good. We have a good lineup and good pitching.
“We have the whole age spectrum mapped out. Everyone vibes well. There’s no look-at-me guys.”
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At just 23 years old, Skenes — similar to Griffin — might be considered more mature than his age would suggest. Skenes has certainly experienced more success than most in his young career, which began at the United States Air Force Academy, followed by a College World Series championship at LSU, an NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2024 and last year’s Cy Young. He’s ready for the Pirates to start winning.
“Results aside, I’m excited about the group,” Skenes said. “We have winning character in that room, top to bottom, that I don’t think we’ve had in the past.
“This is my third year on the team. It’s been a grindy couple of years.”
Pressed on what it might feel like to win in Pittsburgh, Skenes paused, undoubtedly recalling his past and noting that a desire to win isn’t a given.
“I was thinking about it the other day,” he said. “When you’re playing baseball, it’s really hard to figure out how much you want to win until you’ve won something, until you’ve had a taste for it. You don’t know what it feels like.
“What I’ve learned over the past couple of years is winning is winning. Whatever level. Winning organizations do the same thing. This team has that. We’re getting a taste of it. Every game matters. Everyone is playing like every game matters, which is refreshing.”
Griffin’s promotion and new contract are the most recent signs that the Pirates of 2026 want to be different. Skenes and his teammates have heard stories of PNC Park at its best. It can be one of the louder stadiums in the game, but the Pirates haven’t been relevant enough lately to display it. Could this mixture of young and old do the trick?
It has so far, as the Pirates are 11-8 and tied for the NL Central lead, coming off a series win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field last weekend and a split this week against the Washington Nationals, in which Griffin hit his first career triple. Pittsburgh’s two close victories in Chicago led to raucous postgame celebrations with Pirates dads who had accompanied their sons on the road trip — including Griffin’s.
“It’s so cool to see the team atmosphere after a win,” the younger Griffin said.
The Pirates envision plenty more opportunities for them and their families to revel in that atmosphere — and Griffin is a large part of the reason. He has shown he’s ready for the challenge, but the teenager from Flowood, Mississippi, which has a population of 10,202, is still just 13 games into his major league career and getting used to big league life.
Besides facing the best competition in the world, he was asked what else has made him feel like he has finally arrived?
“The luxury of everything,” Griffin said with a smile. “The charter flights, staying in nice hotels. It’s all the nice things. It makes you want to stay here and continue to take advantage.”
