Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Konnor Griffin isn’t the only 19-year-old star on rise for the Pirates

The major-league debut and subsequent signing of Konnor Griffin to a nine-year, $140 million contract extension have made the Pittsburgh Pirates the talk of the baseball world.

But the buzz isn’t isolated to one 19-year-old Pirate.

Though Griffin is baseball’s consensus top prospect, the Pirates have one of the most exciting pitchers in their system in right-hander Seth Hernandez. MLB Pipeline’s No. 26 prospect had his own dazzling debut April 3 overshadowed by the fanfare of Griffin arrival.

“I mean, don’t take it for granted right?” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “It’s not usual.”

The No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Corona (Calif.) High School, Hernandez recorded eight strikeouts without a walk and had 18 whiffs on 24 swings while allowing one earned run on three hits in three innings in his professional debut for Low-A Bradenton.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder threw 30 of his 39 pitches for strikes, averaged 97.9 mph on his fastball and an eye-popping 19 inches of vertical break (MLB average is 16). Most impressive is that Hernandez used his off-speed and breaking pitches for punchouts, getting seven of his eight strikeouts with his slider or curveball.

“It’s exciting,” Cherington said. “His stuff is real. He’s an athlete. He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there, and he’s now had one actual professional outing, so we probably need a few more than that. Looking forward to his next one.”

Hernandez stole the show at the Spring Breakout when his first pitch was clocked at 102.4 mph, drawing a reaction from Detroit Tigers phenom Max Clark that went viral and became meme-worthy. Hernandez topped triple digits 10 times in one inning of the showcase, with half of those timed at 101 mph or faster and twice hitting 102 mph.

That performance raised eyebrows inside the Pirates’ clubhouse, as players predicted Hernandez could be the next prospect to make a meteoric rise to the major leagues.

“That’s crazy. An unbelievable talent,” pitcher Mitch Keller said. “A starting pitcher is going to be a different journey than a shortstop. He’ll probably need to build up some innings and find a routine because he’s so young. But it’s incredible. Hopefully, we can see him here next year or the year after that. That’s going to make an impact for us, for sure.”

Starting pitcher Bubba Chandler credited Cherington and the baseball operations and scouting departments for doing a “great job collecting guys” in the draft, as their past three No. 1 picks have netted National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes (2023), Griffin (2024) and Hernandez.

“The Pirates probably picked the best player in the draft the last couple of years,” Chandler said. “I’m biased as a teammate of theirs, but it’s mostly true. I’ve been around Seth a little bit. Another impressive kid who doesn’t act his age. It’s insane. Seth will fly through the organization. It’s awesome, the similarity.”

Skenes has shared his excitement over having Griffin playing shortstop behind him and his belief that the Pirates made the perfect pick in a draft class that produced American League Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, as well as Cincinnati Reds right-hander Chase Burns and Kansas City Royals right fielder/first baseman Jac Caglianone.

“He was the best player in that draft from everything I heard, and we got him,” Skenes said. “It’s hard to say looking at him now that they made the right choice, it was kind of a layup it seems like to pick him with the makeup and the talent and everything.”

Cherington believes it’s easier to make that assessment in hindsight, acknowledging the MLB Draft is hard and mistakes will be made. But he’s glad he listened to area scout Darren Mazeroski, vice president of scouting Joe DelliCarri and former amateur scouting director Justin Horowitz, who is now an assistant GM with the Washington Nationals.

Cherington said Sunday on 93.7 FM that the Pirates wouldn’t have selected Griffin at No. 9 overall without the scouting legwork and the sign-off from analysts who assessed his contact rate against high-level pitching on the summer circuit. Cherington said the scouts were full of superlatives, such as DelliCarri calling Griffin “the best lower-half athlete he had seen,” but the Pirates ultimately bet on the human being.

“You go back to being in that draft room, hearing people talk about both those guys and taking a right-hand hitting high school infielder from Mississippi and then a high school righty the next year, both in the Top 10 … if you’re just playing the sort of ‘odds’ games on the demographic is not always what an organization would do, it’s not where the ‘safety’ is,” Cherington said. “We owe it to the people in that room who do their jobs really well and who are really convicted. And, in both cases, they made strong, compelling cases to take a shot … and it wasn’t just like ‘throw a dart.’ There were very specific reasons for that.

“Right now, I’m certainly glad we did in both cases.”

Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin greets Bryan Reynolds and Jake Mangum after they scored on a double by Ryan O’Hearn during the second inning against the Orioles on Sunday, April 5, 2026, at PNC Park. (Christopher Horner | TribLive)

1. Support group

Before the news conference to announce Griffin signing his nine-year contract, a parade of Pirates players led by Skenes filled the back of the room at PNC Park.

That alleviated the concerns Griffin voiced to Cherington during contract negotiations about how a $140 million commitment to a player who had yet to make his major-league debut would be received by teammates inside the clubhouse.

“It’s amazing seeing the guys back there,” Griffin said. “They made me so comfortable in this clubhouse. It’s been nothing but great, and I’m thankful for the relationships I’ve been able to build with them. I think back on it, it may have been a silly comment, but I really do care about being a better teammate more than anything. I’m going to continue to do that.”

Teammates have noted that Griffin, like Skenes, tends to deflect attention and is focused on building the Pirates into a winner.

“Glad he got a deal that works for him. He’s going to be the face of the franchise for a long time,” Skenes said. “It’s a continuation of everything we’ve seen for the past year or so. Just bringing in guys, we have a homegrown rotation right now. Drafting well, developing well and creating a foundation of a team that’s going to win for a long time. It’s another step in the right direction, I think.”

Keller

2. Homegrown talent

The Pirates have built the team largely through the draft, with first-round picks in Griffin, catcher Henry Davis and third baseman Nick Gonzales and starting pitchers in Skenes and Carmen Mlodzinski, second-rounders in Keller, Braxton Ashcraft and Jared Jones and third-rounder Bubba Chandler.

“I feel like we’re at that time now where it’s go time,” Keller said. “So it’s really cool to see the guys that we’ve been drafting and developing come up to the big leagues and have an impact here. It’s cool to be one of the guys that has come up and know the journey and the path. Paul and Konnor’s paths are a little shorter than most of ours, but you can still appreciate it. They put in the work, and they earned it.”

Keller, who signed a five-year, $77 million contract extension in 2024, was thrilled to see the Pirates make a financial commitment to Griffin through the 2034 season.

“Especially for a player like Konnor. It’s great to lock him up because you never know what baseball is going to hold for years to come,” Keller said. “Having that guy locked in for nine years now — I forget how many Reynolds has (five), but I’ve got three years left — so we’ve got a lot of guys who are going to be here for a minute.”

Griffin Chandler

3. Teen dream

Chandler was 18 when he left Clemson, where he was planning to play quarterback, to sign for an above-slot bonus of $3 million. Yet the 23-year-old right-hander couldn’t imagine how he would have handled being in Griffin’s shoes at the same age.

“I just think about if I was 19 and thrown into this situation, I would not be remotely close to be able to handle it. I’m just proud of him,” Chandler said. “Throw the money out. That’s really cool. Of course, a lot of guys in here were blessed at a young age, but … he shows up to the yard every day with a purpose and a plan.

“If you followed him around all day, it would look similar to another young guy who made his debut a couple years ago and is the best in the game, Paul (Skenes). It’s special. It’s cool. I’m proud to wear the same jersey he does. I’m super excited for him and his family. He earned it.”

4. Buy Sam a drink

I asked Griffin a loaded question during his news conference, wanting to know how it felt to sign for so much money when he isn’t even old enough to legally buy a beer.

“It’s pretty amazing. I’m sure I’ll get a little crap from the guys about it, but I’m super excited to be able to get this done today,” Griffin said. “Being 19 is pretty cool. All of this is happening so quick. But I’ve always kind of told my family and the organization I’m prepared for this. I’m ready for it. I’m ready to get on that field and go win some games soon.”

Of course, Chandler couldn’t resist cracking a joke.

“He’ll buy us all juice boxes or something,” Chandler said, with a smile. “The type of guy KG is, we’ll walk in here, and there will be something super nice in each one of our lockers. He’s a selfless human being. That’s what we love about him. That’s what everybody loves about him. He’s also really good at baseball. People also like that about him. If there’s someone in here (ticked) off about it, something’s wrong with them.”

Griffin Lowe

5. Lowe and behold

Second baseman Brandon Lowe is thrilled to have Griffin as his double-play partner, noting how plays with precision and has a “howitzer attached to his shoulder for an arm.”

Like his teammates, Lowe is most impressed with how Griffin has handled the fanfare surrounding his debut, his contract and, perhaps most importantly, the 0-for-14 funk that followed the RBI double in his first plate appearance.

“You have to completely disregard 19 because he does not look like or act like a 19-year-old. The only thing that’s 19 are his joints and his ligaments,” Lowe said. “The head on his shoulders, the way he goes about and plays the game, the physicality he has, none of this screams 19-year-old. Hats off to him and his family. Just the way that he’s gone about things and the way he wants to be. He could be super immature and be a risk, and he probably doesn’t get this nine-year extension.

“Being the way that he is, the way he carries himself and the way he goes about the game, he’s earned this money and earned this … I don’t think that there’s any real risk in it. Obviously, there’s always a risk-reward system in a contract deal, but I think it’s going to be great for both parties. It lets him relax and go out and play good baseball. It gives the City of Pittsburgh something to rally behind for, hopefully, nine years. It’s going to be really cool to watch his career blossom and take off.”

When the news conference ended, Lowe introduced himself to Griffin’s parents, Kim and Kevin. As Kim Griffin thanked him for taking Konnor under his wing, Lowe stopped her short and offered his praise to them for a job well done.

“I made sure to go out of my way today to congratulate his parents. Not even congrats on your son signing but congrats on raising a heck of a kid,” Lowe said. “Being a parent now, I know how much farther that goes. Before I had kids and someone said that, I didn’t think it meant all that much. But it would mean the world if someone comes up to me in 15 years and said that about my son. That was the main thing, saying congrats to them for raising such an incredible kid.”