By Billy Watkins
Part of the wondering is over: The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Jackson Prep shortstop-outfielder Konnor Griffin with the No. 9 pick in Sunday night’s Major League draft.
The slot value for the ninth pick this year is $6.2 million. If you’re Griffin, a country boy from Florence who loves to fish and ride four-wheelers, that would buy a lot of lures.
When Griffin, 18, was selected, Jim Callis of MLB.com said on the TV broadcast: “He’s got the highest ceiling in the draft. This guy has 30-30 (home runs and stolen bases) potential. He could be a shortstop. He could be a Gold Glove centerfielder. He could be an absolute monster.”
But one question remains: Will he turn pro or play college ball for LSU? Griffin, the first high school player drafted, has said in interviews that he wants to play professional baseball “as soon as possible.”
And the Pirates, perennial losers, seem to be building something respectable and possibly special in the National League Central.
Pitcher Paul Skenes, who led LSU to the national championship in 2023, is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA as a rookie and has been named the NL’s starting pitcher in Tuesday night’s All-Star game. The Pirates finished the first half of the season at .500 and sits just 6.5 games out of first place and 1.5 out of a wild card spot.
Griffin is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound speedster who was named the National Gatorade Player of the Year.
The son of Kevin and Kim Griffin batted .559 with 13 doubles, 4 triples, 9 homers and 39 RBI. He stole a staggering 83 bases and scored a national-best 76 runs. He struck out just 10 times in 117 plate appearances.
Pittsburgh or LSU is getting way more than a great baseball player.
Way, way more.
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As I watched as Griffin’s name was called Sunday night, I thought back to May 14. Coach Brent Heavener’s Jackson Prep squad was hosting Presbyterian Christian in the opening game of the best-of-three state championship series.
Griffin started on the mound. For him, it was a bit of an off night: 6 and 2/3 innings, two runs and six hits allowed, nine strikeouts, four walks.
Still, he was only one out shy of earning his 11th win. Prep rallied for a 3-2 victory and went on to earn its seventh consecutive state title.
“No, he wasn’t as sharp tonight as he usually is,” said pitching coach Jay Powell, who spent 11 years in the Major Leagues and was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins. “But he was still better than 99 percent of the high school pitchers in the country.
“The expectations that people put on this kid … it’s kinda like going to the zoo and tapping on the glass, wanting and waiting for the gorilla to do something. After a while, that has to get old. At some point you just want to be a kid and play baseball.
“But I’ll tell you this: I don’t know a kid who could’ve handled all the attention any better.”
Said Prep athletic director Will Crosby: “When people ask about Konnor, it’s so hard to put into words. You just have to be around him day after day, watch how he is with his teammates and in the classroom. He’s so much more than an athlete. The impact he has had on the entire school is immeasurable.”
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Crosby spent more than an hour Saturday morning going into detail with me about his last statement.
But first I wanted to settle some personal curiosity: How good could Griffin have been in football?
“No doubt in my mind, if he had stuck with it he would’ve had offers from every major college in the country,” said Crosby, who has spent 32 years at Prep as a student-athlete, defensive football coach and AD. “When you think about what he could’ve done as a quarterback … the way he can run and throw and the athletic instincts he has. It would’ve been something to see.
“He did play football in the eighth grade but was a receiver. And on most junior high teams, a receiver doesn’t get a lot of touches in a game.
“But I’ll never forget one night when he ran a ‘go’ route. The defender was right on his back, but Konnor could tell the pass was going to be under thrown. So he slowed down and the defensive back slowed down with him. Then at the last second, Konnor sped up just enough so that the ball fell perfectly on his back shoulder and made the catch. You just don’t see that at that age. I knew right then how special he was.”
He also tried his hand at the 100 meters for the junior high track team.
“All the other runners were in starting blocks, and Konnor was standing there, sorta crouched down,” Crosby recalled. “He ran an 11.1, just blew everybody else away.”
Crosby was a standout sprinter for Prep back in the day. “But it took me until my junior year to get a time like that,” he said, laughing. “Look, he’s just different. He looks different, walks different, his gait is different.”
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Following that victory over Presbyterian Christian that I referred to earlier, a line began forming at the gate beside the Prep dugout. Kids were carrying pens and Sharpies, pictures and baseballs. They were waiting for the game to be over so they could get Griffin’s autograph.
He accommodated every one of them. But he didn’t rush through it. He made small talk with each child.
Crosby told the story of a mid-week game during the season. A woman approached Crosby and explained that she was the caregiver of a man who has special needs and that his favorite player was Griffin. She asked if Griffin might stop by the stands after the game and say hello.
“It would mean the world to him,” she said.
“I can guarantee you he will,” Crosby told her.
“It wasn’t a conference game and Konnor was a little frustrated with his performance. I could see it on his face,” Crosby said. “But the minute I told him about the man wanting to meet him, it was like a switch flipped. The frustration just left.
“He said, ‘Yes, sir. I’d love to.’ But Konnor said it might be a cool thing to bring him out onto the field. That’s what we did. And Konnor said hello and started asking the man where he lived, who his favorite team was. They took pictures. For Konnor, it was all about that guy. It couldn’t have gone better.”
The night of the championship game, the autograph line began forming as usual. And it grew and grew and grew.
“I looked toward the back of the line and several of Konnor’s teammates are there, wanting a picture with him,” Crosby said. “One of them told me, ‘We knew if we didn’t do this, Konnor would be here all night.’ But they also wanted that picture.
“That’s how much respect his teammates have for him. But it’s always returned. He’s done hundreds of interviews and all the reporters wanted to talk about was the draft and whether he was going to LSU. He would answer their questions, but he would finish by saying that his focus was on winning another state title with his teammates. He always mentioned them.”
Griffin wasn’t scheduled to graduate until next year. He decided to skip a grade.
“That’s not easy at Prep,” Crosby said. “He has worked his but off academically. He couldn’t attend summer school because he was always traveling with Team USA or some other all-star team.
“A few teachers set up a summer
program where he could do the work on his computer wherever he was. One of them wrote a letter to the people selecting the Gatorade Player of the Year, telling them that he not only got his work done on time but that he usually turned it in early. That’s very in line with who he is.”
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When the last autograph was signed and the final picture taken after the championship game, Griffin walked off the Jackson Prep field for the final time as a high school player.
Crosby watched him pass through the gate and became emotional.
“It may seem silly to some to feel like that about a high school kid,” Crosby said. “But I knew he was done here and I knew we’d never see anything like Konnor Griffin again.
“I turned to his mom, who was in tears, and said, ‘Kim, I miss him already.’ ”
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