Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin wows with home runs vs. Red Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Konnor Griffin, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ latest can’t-miss player and the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, didn’t miss against the Boston Red Sox and newcomer Ranger Suarez on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old shortstop hit two long home runs in Pittsburgh’s 16-7 Grapefruit League win over the Red Sox.

Griffin took a pitch from Suarez, who signed a five-year, $130-million deal with Boston in January after two standout seasons in Philadelphia, and crushed it 375 feet over the left-field wall for a two-run homer in the second inning.

Two innings later, Griffin did it again — turning on a two-strike pitch from Seth Martinez and sending it 440 feet.

“Got some good swings off, so kind of smoked them,” Griffin told reporters afterward.

The 6-foot-4 Griffin, who sprinted through the lower levels of Pittsburgh’s farm system last season, began the day searching for his first hit of the spring and ended it with four RBIs and a pair of swings that offered a flash of his potential.

“We have to keep in mind that he’s 19,” manager Don Kelly told reporters. “It’s about continuing to push him, allowing him to be himself and playing free.”

Griffin acknowledged that having success against two proven major league pitchers — Suarez was an All-Star in 2024 and Martinez has appeared in over 100 games over the past five seasons — was “special,” but he added he was trying to stay in the moment and not get caught up in who he was facing.

“I stepped in the box and I was ready to compete,” Griffin said. “I wasn’t worrying about who was on the mound. I was just worrying about what his stuff was and how I could have the best approach.”

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Suarez, who gave up two runs and three hits with a pair of strikeouts in 1⅔ innings, tipped his cap to the young player who was all of 12 when Suarez made his major league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018.

“When you’re the top prospect in the game, people expect that from you,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “He did that today, and I wasn’t surprised.”

Griffin has tried to keep his head down while the buzz around him has built, just as reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes did during his first spring training with the Pirates two years ago. Skenes began the 2024 season in the minors before making his big league debut in May.

There’s a chance Griffin might not have to wait that long. The left side of the Pirates’ infield is an uncertainty. Jared Triolo is an excellent defender who can play either third or short and Nick Gonzales is also in the mix. Neither, however, has the potential at the plate that Griffin offers.

“He’s definitely going to hit,” Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski said of Griffin. “There’s not a whole lot of swings you see like that, especially from a teenager. The best way to say it is his swing stays in the zone forever.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.