BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates debut for highly touted 19-year-old prospect Konnor Griffin will have to wait.
Griffin was reassigned to minor league camp on Saturday after the shortstop spent the last few weeks showcasing the skills that have made him baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Manager Don Kelly called the decision to leave Griffin off the season-opening roster “extremely difficult.”
“The talent that you see, I think he handled himself really well professionally,” Kelly told reporters. “We talk about the maturity level as a 19-year-old in big league camp. Really excited about him being a Pirate and what that means for the future of Konnor Griffin and the Pirates.”
Griffin homered four times and had nine RBIs in 16 Grapefruit League games, but he batted just .171 and struck out 13 times in 41 at-bats. After Griffin garnered so much attention this spring because of his status as one of the game’s top prospects, Kelly believed a return to the minors could allow the infielder to reassert himself.
“I think you see a young kid that was maybe pressing just a little bit and trying really hard,” Kelly said. “Konnor Griffin the person is elite. Allowing him to go and get back to basics and being Konnor Griffin out there (could help). We know there’s an elite talent level that comes with him. Just looking forward to him being in Pittsburgh whenever that time comes.”
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