It took a week for the Pirates to call up Konnor Griffin, the best player in baseball, to make his debut in their home opener on Friday afternoon. Hitting seventh, Griffin went 1-for-3 in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 win over the Orioles, the highlight coming in the second inning. He came in with a runner on second and one out against Baltimore right-hander Kyle Bradish. The first pitch was a slider from the plate that Griffin chased down and missed. He took the next pitch, an even farther slider, to get the ball, hit another low slider and eluded a second strikeout, and even got a slice of the fourth straight slider out of the zone to stay alive. And then, finally, he got a pitch to hit, a curveball in the dark. He fired it into the left field with two hits in the Pirates’ first game of the game. Two pitches later, he showed off his 70-something speed, blazing through third to score on a single to shallow right.
If you’re reading this Members-only mailbag, you probably know all about Griffin and his incredible ability to change a franchise. Our prospect team described him as a “five-tool player” when they ranked him. 1 on our preseason Top 100 list and we gave him a 70 FV. He doesn’t turn 20 until the end of this month and he’s been a huge lift for this Pirates team, even if they’re struggling out of the gate. Michael Baumann wrote about Griffin on Thursday afternoon, and I encourage you to read it if you want to learn more about what Griffin brings to the Pirates and why, after just five games in Triple-A, they decided it was the right time for his big league career to begin.
That’s the last you’ll read about Griffin’s start in this week’s mailbag. Instead, we’ll answer your questions about the World Series teams with the most and least WAR on their roster during their Fall Classic, the dropped third strike rule, and players with the same name. But first, I’d like to remind you that this post bag is only available to FanGraphs members. If you are not yet a Member and would like to continue learning, you can sign up for Membership here. It’s the best way to experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with tons of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question about a future mailbag, email me at mailbag@fangraphs.com.
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