I had a pretty good source tell me in early March the Pirates want Griffin to play both short and center this year. (The source was Konnor Griffin.) I'm guessing the national writers are just basing it off of his spring major league games.
Seems to me the national writers are acknowledging the position for which he is clearly superior.
I can't think of a single rational argument for him as a SS over CF. But hey, the Pirates have earned the benefit of the doubt on developmental decisions.
I would agree with you, but saw almost 2 weeks of practice with him at short. He is already clearly better than anyone on the major league roster at shortstop and not even close. Above average at every part of playing shortstop. Elite at covering ground and has a cannon to first. Watching infield practice, the 2 guys that stood out to me were Hayes and Griffin.
The rationale would be if you have a bigger need at shortstop than you do in center. I know peope have already given up on Cruz in center, but I think the Pirates are counting on Cruz to learn the position and be good at it. Hopefully, Griffin and Cruz can play 2 or more years together in the majors.
Agree about KG at short. I’ve seen a lot of him at both positions. If anything he’s better at short. He’s way quicker than you’d expect from his size. Shows in his baserunning, too. A few days ago I saw him score on a short PB that instinctively I thought he wouldn’t score on. Wasn’t even close because he got underway so quickly.
The Pirates need a miracle: the offensive version of Paul Skenes to appear in the form of KG complete with an earlier than expected call-up and Rookie of The Year noise.
Skenes will be gone by the time KG arrives. The “window” is a myth. Not a single thing has changed and never will just because they have Skenes. And it’s not five years, either. Nuttin ain’t paying anybody what Skenes will get as an arb2 or arb3 guy. Besides, it’d eat up BC’s Pham/Frazier money.
I saw Brennan Malone pitch, too. What is his story? Came in the 2020 Marte trade, right? With Peggy. How was he not the headliner, since he was a first-rounder, (iirc)?
My wife talked a bit with Brennan's wife/girlfriend, who was there with their cute baby.
Both Malone and Peggy were top 10 prospects for the Pirates after acquisition. The long story short is just they Malone has never stayed healthy. He's only cracked double digit IP over a season once, and only has 35.2 career professional IP to his name. His stuff was phenomenal when he did pitch, but as of last year, seems their having him really step it back from a velo standpoint.
It’s been a long and discouraging road. Surprised he’s still at it, especially with a young family. Always rooting for guys like this to finally break through.
I had a pretty good source tell me in early March the Pirates want Griffin to play both short and center this year. (The source was Konnor Griffin.) I'm guessing the national writers are just basing it off of his spring major league games.
Seems to me the national writers are acknowledging the position for which he is clearly superior.
I can't think of a single rational argument for him as a SS over CF. But hey, the Pirates have earned the benefit of the doubt on developmental decisions.
I would agree with you, but saw almost 2 weeks of practice with him at short. He is already clearly better than anyone on the major league roster at shortstop and not even close. Above average at every part of playing shortstop. Elite at covering ground and has a cannon to first. Watching infield practice, the 2 guys that stood out to me were Hayes and Griffin.
The rationale would be if you have a bigger need at shortstop than you do in center. I know peope have already given up on Cruz in center, but I think the Pirates are counting on Cruz to learn the position and be good at it. Hopefully, Griffin and Cruz can play 2 or more years together in the majors.
Agree about KG at short. I’ve seen a lot of him at both positions. If anything he’s better at short. He’s way quicker than you’d expect from his size. Shows in his baserunning, too. A few days ago I saw him score on a short PB that instinctively I thought he wouldn’t score on. Wasn’t even close because he got underway so quickly.
The Pirates need a miracle: the offensive version of Paul Skenes to appear in the form of KG complete with an earlier than expected call-up and Rookie of The Year noise.
Skenes will be gone by the time KG arrives. The “window” is a myth. Not a single thing has changed and never will just because they have Skenes. And it’s not five years, either. Nuttin ain’t paying anybody what Skenes will get as an arb2 or arb3 guy. Besides, it’d eat up BC’s Pham/Frazier money.
Hmmmm. Source seems questionable 😂
I saw Brennan Malone pitch, too. What is his story? Came in the 2020 Marte trade, right? With Peggy. How was he not the headliner, since he was a first-rounder, (iirc)?
My wife talked a bit with Brennan's wife/girlfriend, who was there with their cute baby.
Go Bucs
Three shoulder surgeries.
Both Malone and Peggy were top 10 prospects for the Pirates after acquisition. The long story short is just they Malone has never stayed healthy. He's only cracked double digit IP over a season once, and only has 35.2 career professional IP to his name. His stuff was phenomenal when he did pitch, but as of last year, seems their having him really step it back from a velo standpoint.
It’s been a long and discouraging road. Surprised he’s still at it, especially with a young family. Always rooting for guys like this to finally break through.