ESPN News ServicesMultiple AuthorsFeb 24, 2026, 05:59 PM ET
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.
Two innings later, Griffin did it again — turning on a two-strike pitch from Seth Martinez and sending it 440 feet.
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.
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.
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.”
“Got some good swings off, so kind of smoked them,” Griffin told reporters afterward.
Konnor Griffin belts his first two HRs of the spring (0:55)Konnor Griffin helps power the Pirates’ offense with a pair of home runs vs. the Red Sox. (0:55)