In the Pirates’ 4-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Phillies on Sunday, MLB’s No. 1 prospect laced a 109.1 mph line drive to right field in the top of the sixth inning, and Bryce Harper — who was doing an in-game interview from the dugout at the time — took notice.
Harper’s unprompted compliment resembles what many would have said about the eight-time All-Star when he was a prospect. Back then, an 18-year-old Harper was possibly the most-hyped prospect to date. He made his Spring Training debut after just nine professional games and wowed Nationals fans with a .389/.450/.556 slash line across 18 Grapefruit League at-bats.
Griffin, in many ways, is on the same trajectory. After the Pirates selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft, the right-handed shortstop took the Minor Leagues by storm. He rose from Single-A to High-A to Double-A in his first season and combined for 21 homers and 65 stolen bases, while slashing .333/.415/.527 over 122 contests. Much like Harper, Griffin has routinely thrived against older competition. By the time he reached Double-A, the Mississippi native was playing against opponents that were 4.5 years older than him on average.
In Harper’s age-19 season, he was sent to Triple-A Syracuse to start the year before earning a big league callup in late April. He would like to see Griffin take a similar path.