With spring training and the 2026 MLB season in sight, ESPN has released its list of Top 100 MLB Prospects for the coming season. At the top of their list was the Pittsburgh Pirates“Konnor Griffin, who has been touted as one of the best prospects in recent history.
ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel compiled the list of prospects and reported that Griffin’s tools far surpass all other prospects in this class and put him in the upper echelon of some of the best players in the game today.
“Griffin is by far the best prospect in baseball, and I almost have him in the 70 FV tier, which is the highest I would put any hypothetical prospect, because that means I expect him to be on MVP ballots with 5+ seasons of WAR every year,” McDaniel wrote. “If I move him to a 70 FV, that would put Griffin in the conversation with Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and other top prospects from this era.”
McDaniel then gave pro Griffin lineups to Fernando Tatis Jr. because of his frame and overall talent, as well as Bobby Witt Jr. because of his skills as a shortstop with a blend of power and speed that makes him dangerous both in the batter’s box and on the base pads.
While these are still projections on how good Griffin will be, McDaniel noted that so far the game hasn’t seemed difficult for him and that he has excelled everywhere he has been in his young career.
“We do not currently know the limits of what Griffin can do on a baseball field, going from being the most talented player in his age group since the start of high school to fixing what some swing gurus thought was a fatal flaw in his game in a matter of months,” McDaniel wrote. “The plan to make further adjustments now appears to be a formality.”
Ever since Griffin first took the court as a professional, it was clear he could be something special. The Pirates drafted him ninth overall in the 2024 draft as the top high school prospect in the class. He would make his professional debut in 2025 with the Bradenton Marauders. From there, it was only a matter of time before the top prospect in Pittsburgh’s system made a name for himself.
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After 50 games with Bradenton, Griffin was called up to High-A Greensboro where he really began to establish himself as one of the best players in the world. He would be added to the National League Futures roster during the All-Star break, then pick up where he left off by being promoted to Altoona and helping them during their playoff run. The 19-year-old shortstop finished the 2025 season with a .333/.415/.527 slash line to go along with a .942 OPS, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases.
With these great numbers, Griffin has received numerous individual accolades. Baseball America named him Minor League Player of the Year and Minor League All-Star. USA Today also named Griffin Minor League Player of the Year. He was also named the recipient of the Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove Award and numerous other All-Star nominations were also claimed by Griffin.
With the way the Pirates are currently constructed, Griffin has a very real chance to make an impact in the major leagues as soon as this year. The Mississippi native was one of several prospects to be a non-roster invitee to big league spring training in Bradenton, and it’s assumed his time with the Pirates won’t end there this season. Even if he’s not in Pittsburgh immediately after spring training, there’s still a chance he could be called up at some point during the season.
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McDaniel noted that given Griffin’s inexperience, he might not be called up that early, but mentioned that “superstars almost always arrive earlier than expected.”
“There is talk that he could leave camp as a big league everyday shortstop and possibly earn a bonus draft pick for the Pirates if he wins National League Rookie of the Year,” McDaniel wrote. “Add Griffin to Paul Skenes, with Bubba Chandler also breaking into the major leagues with frontcourt potential, and you can begin to imagine how this team could electrify the Steel City.”
