When Konnor Griffin walked into the home clubhouse with a duffle bag and found his nameplate above a temporary locker, it was evident he was about to get the royal treatment from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Two days after signing for an above-slot $6.3 million bonus, the No. 9 overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft took ground balls and batting practice with the Pirates before Friday night’s game at PNC Park.

With his family watching next to the dugout railing, the 18-year-old from Florence, Miss., slipped on gold batting gloves, fastened the Velcro straps, picked up a wooden bat and turned toward the city skyline to take some swings on his future home field.

“I’m just trying to learn as much as I can,” said Griffin, who planned to report Saturday to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. “You’ve got a lot of experience out here, and I’ve got a lot to learn, so I’m just trying to take it all in as much as I can and just enjoying my time out here.

“It’s been great. The Pirates have been awesome. It’s been a great week to be with my family one more time before I move out. I really enjoyed it here.”

Pirates first-round pick Konnor Griffin, on taking batting practice with major leaguers at PNC Park for the first time and his week in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/OZucW3JmN7

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) August 2, 2024

What amazed the Pirates is how Griffin, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-handed hitter with five-tool potential, didn’t look out of place despite being at least four years younger than everyone. Pirates manager Derek Shelton was among those excited and “extremely pleased” to see how the newest member of the organization passed the eyeball test.

“Honestly, I was surprised how big he is. He’s big and physical for an 18-year-old kid. That makes you smile when you get a position player of that size, that’s that athletic,” Shelton said. “You hear about it a lot whenever we draft someone and there are scouts, everyone is exuberant about it. He walked in the room and I was like, ‘He fills up the room.’”

That’s one thing coming from Shelton — speaking on behalf of his ballclub — and entirely another when it’s coming from major-league players, including an All-Star who has been the buzz of baseball.

Paul Skenes met Griffin in passing at LSU, when Skenes was starring for the Tigers and Griffin was at Alex Box Stadium on a recruiting visit. Griffin became a fan while watching Skenes lead LSU to its seventh College World Series championship and become the No. 1 overall pick last year, then make his major-league debut May 11 and be selected the starting pitcher for the National League in the Midsummer Classic.

So Griffin had to pinch himself when he received a congratulatory text message from Skenes after being drafted by the Pirates last month. When they met in person, Skenes noted that Griffin is “built like a big leaguer” and added, “I’m fired up we got him.”

“I didn’t know he was going to be around for us to pick and didn’t exactly know who he was at the time but really love his presence, his poise,” Skenes said. “That’s something I lived pretty recently, too, being able to share a locker room with Cutch and Mitch and Chapman and Yaz, all those guys. We’ve just got to keep it going. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. We’re all on the same team. He’s in the organization now, and he’ll be in the big leagues really soon, so we’re going to be teammates before he knows it so I’m fired up about that.”

Dreams to reality ???? pic.twitter.com/5pFERu8ZDI

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) August 2, 2024

Make yourself at home, KG. pic.twitter.com/YKnEA6kLCD

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) August 2, 2024

Konnor Griffin is ready to take some hacks at PNC Park ???? pic.twitter.com/4kvleSfuB4

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) August 2, 2024

Skenes was hardly alone in that assessment. Alika Williams was in the last group with Griffin, taking grounders and batting practice together, and the 25-year-old Pirates rookie shortstop could relate to being a first-round pick having the red carpet rolled out for him — to an extent.

“I was watching him, and it brought back memories of how exciting and special of a day that is for him and his family,” said Williams, selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the No. 37 pick of the first round in 2020. “I think it was cool that he got to be out there with the team and work in with us. It’s definitely a special day he’ll remember forever.”

Williams never got that type of opportunity with the Rays at Tropicana Field because of the covid pandemic. The draft picks were allowed to walk onto the field but wore masks and couldn’t shake anyone’s hands.

“When I signed, the Trop was like a wasteland. There was no one there,” Williams said. “I can’t imagine what it was like for him.”

What impressed Williams is how taking grounders and batting practice with the Pirates didn’t faze Griffin, who led Jackson Prep to a state championship a few months ago. Then again, Griffin was the Gatorade national player of the year, starred for USA Baseball and in the summer circuit and was the first high school player selected in the draft.

“You can definitely tell that he’s got the tools — swing’s there, arm’s there, glove’s there — so I’m excited to see what he does the next few years,” Williams said. “He looked like he was ready. He looked good. He didn’t seem like he was nervous or anything like that. He looked like he was ready to rock.”

Pirates first-round pick Konnor Griffin takes batting practice at PNC Park before reporting to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. pic.twitter.com/INsOw8x0wx

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) August 3, 2024

Griffin sprayed line drives to all fields — hitting one off the wall in center field — but didn’t have any clear the fence. Not only did Griffin look the part but from the crack of his wooden bat, he sounded like it, too.

“Us athletes, we train for moments like this,” Griffin said. “It’s pretty cool. A lot goes through your head. You try to take it all in. I just really enjoyed it out here today. It was awesome.”

That’s more than Andrew McCutchen could have fathomed at the same age. There was far less fanfare surrounding first-round draft choices when the Pirates picked McCutchen 11th overall in 2005 out of Fort Meade (Fla.) High School. Just the thought of taking batting practice with major leaguers back then blows McCutchen’s mind.

“I don’t remember, man,” McCutchen said, with a laugh. “That was so long ago. I didn’t take BP. I would have never done that anyway. It’s just way too intimidating. You’re 18, on a field with big league guys who are getting ready for a big league ballgame. The last thing I’d want to be doing is be in the middle of it. I would’ve never done that.”

But McCutchen couldn’t blame Griffin for doing what has become a rite of passage for first-round picks. Henry Davis (2021) and Termarr Johnson (2022) both got in their cuts at PNC Park after signing.

Almost two decades ago, that wasn’t even a consideration.

“I didn’t get that opportunity,” McCutchen said. “It was just like, ‘Hi.’ I shook a couple hands with people from the front office. I didn’t even meet players. It was so separated. It was like, ‘You haven’t done anything yet, so you don’t get that opportunity.’ That was how I came up. I’m aging myself by saying that.

“They gave him the door to do that, so awesome. It’s cool that he got the opportunity to be around some big leaguers, take some ground balls on the field while we were taking batting practice. That’s nice, man. You get a little taste of it, then the real work starts.”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---