Teen Prospect Griffin Makes MLB Debut

0:00It's April 2nd. This is MLB News Today, powered by AI tracking teams, players, and standings. The Pittsburgh Pirates are calling up their top prospect, Connor Griffin, for the majors just before their home opener on Friday against the Orioles. This 19-year-old shortstop, MLB Pipeline's number one overall prospect, will hit the field several weeks shy of his 20th birthday on April 24th. Griffin steps into rare air as the first teenage position player in the big leagues in eight years, following Juan Soto's debut with the nationals. Back in 2018, Soto crushed that rookie year 19, hitting 22 homers and slashing 0.292 with a 0.406 on-base percentage. Over 116 games. It's been scarce for teens in the majors since 2000, with Griffin marking just the 13th overall, including pictures like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and the Upton Brothers. For the Pirates specifically, no teenager has suited up since

1:01armistramirez played 25 games in 19, in 1998. Digging deeper, the last team position player to debut this early in a season, was Adrian Beltre, on opening day in 1999, and Griffin at. 19 years and 344 days will be the youngest in his team's first seven games since Andrew Jones in 1997. This move revived some old school pirates magic from the 50s when they had 11 teenagers, including Bill Maserisky, and Griffin's arrival has. Fans buzzing about the next big thing lighting up PNC Park right out the gate.