The Pittsburgh Pirates have baseball’s best prospect for the second time in three seasons.

Shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin may just be one of more impressive players not just in his age group, but the minor leagues altogether.

The 19-year-old soared up the minor league ranks, by playing in three separate levels in one season – all of it being his first season in the minors, where he had a .333 average combined.

That was the best average in his first minor league season as a teenager since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did it while batting .381 in 2018.

Griffin spent the last 22 games of the season playing for Double-A Altoona, where he didn’t once look out of place.

He racked up an impressive .337 batting average, five home runs, 22 RBIs, and two doubles. All in 21 games in Double-A.

Because of that, Griffin was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, making him the second Pirate ever to win the award since pitcher Mike Bielecki did it in 1984.

Growing up, Griffin was a three sport athlete, playing basketball and football on top of excelling on the diamond. But that baseball was the one sport that felt different to him, in the best way possible.

“I think what made me go baseball is you fail so much at this game, but there’s nothing better at overcoming some adversity and it’s just kind of addicting to me. I’ve loved this since I was 12 years old and baseball’s different, I love being on the field.”

Griffin took some time to speak to Baseball America’s weekly “Hot Sheet” show and discussed some of the adjustments he had to make to progress all the way up to Double-A.

“I just think experience is the most important thing. As the season went on, I continued to stack up good days and become the hitter and defensive player that I’ve became. There was always a challenge every day that I had to overcome, but the main thing was to show up and be ready to win and ready to compete.”

Along the way during the interview, Griffin was asked about the relationship he developed with superstar Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and how he envisions a future playing alongside him.

“He stays in touch, he’ll text me every now and then, just checking in,” Griffin said. “When we were in spring training, we were able to spend a lot of time together. It’s just cool to see that type of competitor he is and he wants to win more than anything. If you can get a lot of guys around him that have that same mentality, it’s going to be a fun few years and I just can’t wait to continue to grow as a player… just to be around that type of player.”

With a year of professional baseball under his belt, can that prophecy be fulfilled? The Pirates can surely use a player like him, considering their starting shortstop this season was Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The stage will be set for Spring Training of the 2026 season in Pittsburgh as it hopes to see even more growth from it’s best prospect.