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Konnor Griffin (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
With top-of-the-scale speed, elite power and plus defense at multiple positions, Konnor Griffin is the best prospect in baseball.
And in 2026, the Pirates’ wunderkind has a chance to rise above even the best prospects in the game over the 35-plus years of our Top 100 Prospects rankings.
That’s because, Griffin is likely to make a bit of history and serve as the poster child for how modern players move quickly through the minor leagues.
Whether it’s on Opening Day or later this season, Griffin is expected to make it to Pittsburgh at some point in 2026. If he does, he will be one of the fastest-moving players from the draft to MLB in recent history.
If he makes the Opening Day roster, it will make Griffin the youngest MLB hitter in nine seasons. He will not turn 20 until April 24. So, if he breaks camp with the Pirates, he would be doing so as a teenager.
That alone is unusual. Just 17 teenage position players have reached the majors in the past 40 years. In fact, over the past two decades, it’s been rarer than seeing a perfect game. Just five players have done it since 2005: Justin Upton, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Jurickson Profar and Juan Soto. Soto, the most recent example, debuted in May 2018.
Since then, the youngest big league position players are Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who arrived in the majors 41 days after his 20th birthday, and Jackson Chourio, who reached the majors 18 days after he turned 20.
But as young as Griffin is, it is his minor league experience—or lack thereof—that sets him apart.
Griffin did not play in an official game in 2024 after he was drafted. In 122 games last year, he hit .333/.415/.527 in 563 plate appearances across Low-A, High-A and Double-A, earning Minor League Player of the Year honors.
Ultimately, that is what may give the Pirates pause when they deliberate as to whether Griffin should make the Opening Day roster. Even among hitters who have made it to the majors before their 21st birthday, Griffin’s total minor league games and plate appearances are exceptionally low.
Since 1985, just 95 position players reached the majors before turning 21. They averaged 303 MiLB games and 1,294 PAs before their debut. Even the hitters who reached the big leagues as teenagers averaged 251 MiLB games and 1,070 PAs. Griffin has roughly half of those totals.
In fact, in the past 40 years, just four players with Griffin’s combination of youth and inexperience have reached the big leagues. Since 1985, the four players who had 130 or fewer MiLB games and 575 or fewer PAs are Ken Griffey Jr. (129 games, 552 PAs), Alex Rodriguez (114, 475), Bryce Harper (130, 536) and Juan Soto (122, 512).
Those four players are why the Pirates may consider pushing Griffin quickly to the majors. Because great players are sometimes on a different timetable than everyone else. They announce themselves early, wear out the competition at every stop and force their team to bring them to the big leagues.
PlayerGPAAVGOBPSLGHRK%BB%Ken Griffey Jr.129552.320.427.5762716.8%15.0%Alex Rodriguez114475.312.376.5772117.3%8.8%Bryce Harper130536.289.382.4791818.8%12.7%Juan Soto122512.357.443.6501712.1%13.4%Konnor Griffin122563.333.415.5272121.7%8.9%
One of those four players was a first-ballot Hall of Famer (Griffey). Another would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer if not for PED suspensions (Rodriguez). Harper and Soto are well on their way to Cooperstown, as well.
There’s not a bust in the group, and all four were MLB stars at ages when many players are still playing college ball and hoping to be drafted. Each player rewarded his team’s decision to push him to the majors so quickly.
Rodriguez finished second in MVP voting as a 20-year-old. Griffey finished third in Rookie of the Year voting as a 19-year-old and the following year began a 10-year streak of all-star appearances and Gold Gloves.
Harper was Rookie of the Year as a 19-year-old and won the National League MVP as a 22-year-old. Soto finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting as a 19-year-old, earned MVP votes the following year and led the NL in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging as a 21-year-old.
Spring training is giving Griffin a chance to show he belongs in the majors. If he can crack that Opening Day roster, he’ll be putting himself in rare—and elite—company.
Least Experienced MLB Callups (1985-2025)
Note: Age 21.0 or under
PlayerPosDebut
YEARDEBUT
AGEMiLB
GamesMiLB
PAsOverviewRyan Zimmerman3B200520.9367269Only college draftee on the list was a September callup in draft yearAlex RodriguezSS199418.95114475A-Rod made 14 all-star appearances and won three MVP awardsJuan SotoOF201819.55122512Soto is the all-time MLB leader in walks through his age-27 seasonKen Griffey Jr.OF198919.36129552Even with injuries, he hit 630 homers and was a first-ballot Hall of FamerBryce HarperOF201219.53130536The 2010 No. 1 pick skipped two years of high school to speed up his path to majorsGene KingsaleOF199620.04146595A blip in the chart. Orioles September callup played three games without ever battingJackson Holliday2B202420.35154719Has shown flashes so far but is still younger than many top prospectsLuis TorrensC201720.92160672Padres Rule 5 pick out of the Yankees’ system has become a solid backupManuel Lee2B198519.81167638Light-hitting middle infielder spent 11 years in the majors
