Konnor Griffin is baseball’s best prospect. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2024 first-round pick ascended to that title after he hit for a .941 OPS, .437 wOBA, and 165 wRC+. He did that while showing off a ton of power, an ability to steal any base, and outstanding defense at shortstop. He now has the potential to make the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, even though he has less than 100 plate appearances at Double-A. The sort of hype surrounding Konnor Griffin is unheard of in the Pirates franchise history, and he may have the best rookie campaign the Bucs have seen in a very long time.
Who Konnor Griffin Must Surpass to Have the Best Rookie Season in Pirates History
The Last Pirates Position Player to Win ROY
Since big league integration in 1947, 70 Pirates have gone to bat at least 300 times in their rookie season. One of the first rookie seasons many fans will think of is Jason Bay’s 2004 campaign. After all, it is one of only two times a Pirate has won Rookie of the Year, and the only time a position player took it home. During Bay’s rookie season, he hit .282/.358/.550 with 26 home runs over 472 plate appearances. Overall, he had a 132 OPS+. His outfield defense was about league average, with zero defensive runs saved. Overall, Bay had +2.2 bWAR.
The Most Recent Star Rookie Campaign
While Bay’s 2004 was a strong season, it’s not the most valuable Pirates rookie season since 1947. That would belong to Bryan Reynolds’ 2019 season. Reynolds put up a .314/.377/.503 triple-slash with 16 homers in 542 plate appearances. The switch-hitter graded out as a quality defender in 2019. He had +8 DRS over 1,055 innings. Most of his playing time was in left field, but he saw innings in right and center field. His +4.2 bWAR is the most by a Pirates rookie position player.
Vanderbilt alum @Bryan_Reynolds (.314) has registered MLB’s highest batting average for a switch-hitting rookie since 1896 (via @StatsBySTATS). 👌#LetsGoBucs | #VandyBoys pic.twitter.com/gwhrzSDGFG
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) September 29, 2019
Half Season, But Elite Numbers
On a rate basis, very few Pirates rookie seasons compare to Garrett Jones’ 2009 season. He batted .293/.372/.567. Jones’ 146 OPS+ is the second-best in Pirates’ history. He saw playing time in the outfield corners and at first base. Jones graded out as a solid defensive outfielder with +4 DRS over 470 1/3 innings, and was average at first base, with zero DRS in 255 2/3 frames. Jones also went yard 21 times with an impressive +3.3 bWAR. However, he only did this in 82 games and 358 plate appearances. Had he had the same amount of playing time as Bryan Reynolds had in 2019, Jones would have had 32 home runs and +5.0 bWAR.
Two other rookie seasons worth mentioning are Richie Zisk’s 1973 season. His 147 OPS+ is the best among Pirates rookies since integration with 300+ plate appearances. The other is Jung Ho Kang’s 2015 campaign. The South Korean infielder racked up +4.1 bWAR in 126 games. He trailed Reynolds’ record by just 0.1 points of bWAR.
What Griffin Has to Do
On paper, Griffin has a strong chance to surpass Bay’s season in value alone. His defense at shortstop could easily carry him to +2.5 or more bWAR. For example, last year, Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins had +3.5 bWAR with an 86 OPS+. The infielder had +13 fielding runs with most of his playing time at shortstop, and a handful of games at second base. He played a full season as well, with 594 plate appearances.
Get used to this. Konnor Griffin is a superstar. pic.twitter.com/eZM2S3EM7f
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 24, 2026
Even if he hits a little, he’ll likely surpass Bryan Reynolds’ 2019 bWAR mark. Now, if Griffin hits anything like Bay and his defense is as good as advertised, he’ll be one of the most valuable infielders in baseball in 2026. Take Trevor Story’s 2018 as an example. He had a 127 OPS+ and +8 fielding runs. His bWAR came out to +6.3 in 157 games. Then there’s 2023 Francisco Lindor. He put up a 121 OPS+, +7 fielding runs, and had a 30/30 season. Lindor had a similar bWAR at +6.1. Last year, there were only five infielders who were worth at least +6.0 bWAR.
However, Griffin simply has to be a good defensive shortstop with good base running and a slightly above-average hitter to surpass Reynolds’ franchise rookie bWAR record. Just last season, division rival shortstop Dansby Swanson of the Chicago Cubs only had a 105 OPS+. He had a 20/20 season and +7 fielding runs. That came out to a +4.5 bWAR. It took him 159 games to do that, but it would just edge out Reynolds’ 2019 season. That rate of production over the same amount of playing time Reynolds got in 2019 would still match his bWAR record.
Griffin’s ceiling is so high, and there’s not a single part of his game that looks like a noticeable weakness. The Pirates haven’t had a position player prospect with this much hype surrounding him in their history. Not even Andrew McCutchen was ranked as the best prospect in all of baseball before his debut. Konnor Griffin may deliver a historic Pirates rookie campaign.
Main Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images