Last night, the consensus top prospect in all of baseball made his Triple-A debut.

Konnor Griffin, the 19-year-old phenom who battled for a spot on the big league roster this past spring, suited up for the Indianapolis Indians, the top minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He took reps at shortstop for the team’s season opener at home at Victory Field.

The ninth overall pick from 2024 was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Hosting the St. Paul Saints, Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, Indianapolis fell 4-2.

Griffin wasted no time making an impact in Indy. Batting leadoff, Griffin drew a walk against lefty starting pitcher Connor Prielipp in his opening plate appearance, including holding off an incredibly close second pitch in a six-pitch outing.

As third baseman Tyler Callihan struck out next, Griffin snagged his first stolen base of the season. Though that wasn’t a skill he got to show a ton in spring training, he stole a total of 65 bases through 122 games in Bradenton, Greensboro, and Altoona.

Two batters later, catcher Endy Rodríguez brought Griffin home with a ground ball to center field, scoring him from second. That run put Indianapolis on the board, the first of several required to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole they dug in the top of the first.

In the bottom of the third, Griffin grounded out, swinging at a pitch below the zone and to the second baseman.

But in the sixth, he recorded his first hit in Triple-A. Facing right-handed reliever Raul Brito, Griffin smacked one 102.2 miles per hour to left field to put him on first base.

Callihan followed him up with a single of his own, bringing Griffin to third. After Jhostynxon García struck out for the second of three times on the day, Rodríguez was able to bring Griffin home for a second time with a ground ball towards left field.

Griffin’s fourth and final plate appearance came in the bottom of the seventh inning.

St. Paul swapped out Brito for righty Grant Hartwig, tasked with ending the inning. Hartwig, who split last season between Triple-A and the Nippon League, was the only pitcher with previous MLB experience Griffin faced last night. Hartwig has a total of 42 big league innings over 2023 and 2024 with the New York Mets.

He challenged Griffin with four off-speed pitches to open the at-bat, three of which went for balls. He came back with a mid-90s sinker for a called second strike, before getting Griffin to swing for a sweeper high in the zone. Griffin got a piece of it, but fouled it into the catcher’s mitt for a strikeout.

It was a slow opener for an Indianapolis team that is loaded with offensive potential. Griffin is obviously the headliner, but the team also has Rodríguez, García, catching prospect Rafael Flores, infielder Termarr Johnson, fast-rising prospect Esmerlyn Valdez, and others.

Indianapolis is back in action today at 4:05pm against St. Paul.