Meet Pirates' Konnor Griffin, MLB's next teenage superstar

"Since opening in 2022, Maven has assessed thousands of baseball players with force plates that use sensors to measure the amount of energy being transferred into the ground during a swing. Griffin was the top-ranked 16-year-old in the country, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound specimen, and the plate was no match for him. Though the plate was anchored into a portable frame that had withstood swings from perennial major league All-Stars and MVP-caliber players, the force Griffin was creating jarred it loose."

"Now 19 years old -- and the No. 1 prospect in the game after a tour de force 2025 in which he dominated three levels and was the consensus Minor League Player of the Year -- Griffin entered camp with an opportunity to win Pittsburgh's every-day shortstop job. Regardless of whether he secures an Opening Day roster spot, Griffin will debut at some point this season and join Paul Skenes as the best pair of young players on any team in baseball."

"You're looking at a Ferrari. You're not looking at a little Fiat. This spring, the Pittsburgh Pirates are endeavoring to figure out whether they're ready to take their F40 for a spin."

Konnor Griffin, a 19-year-old prospect, demonstrated extraordinary power when he visited Maven Baseball Lab in Atlanta, creating enough force to dislodge an anchored force plate used to measure swing energy—an unprecedented occurrence at the facility. Griffin, ranked as the top prospect in baseball after dominating three minor league levels in 2025 and earning Minor League Player of the Year honors, entered Pittsburgh Pirates spring training with an opportunity to win the everyday shortstop position. Whether he makes the Opening Day roster or debuts later, Griffin will join pitcher Paul Skenes as one of baseball's best young player pairs. The Pirates organization views Griffin as a transformative prospect representing significant hope for franchise improvement.

Read at ESPN.com