Paul Skenes Hypes 'Difference-Maker' Konnor Griffin After 19-Year-Old's MLB Debut for Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin made his long-awaited MLB debut on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles and burst onto the scene with an RBI double in his first at-bat.

The first MLB teenage position player since Juan Soto (2018) ultimately helped lead Pittsburgh to a 5-4 win, per the Associated Press.

Pirates star pitcher and reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes remarked on his impact postgame.

"He's a difference-maker, it was very apparent today," Skenes said.

Griffin knocked in the game's first run and scored its second after Jared Triolo followed the rookie's double with an RBI single. Henry Davis then added an RBI double before Oneil Cruz smacked an RBI single to give Pittsburgh a 4-0 edge in the second inning. The Pirates withstood a late Baltimore comeback for the win.

Griffin is the No. 1 player on MLB.com's Top 100 prospect list. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft dominated over three levels of minors in 2025 (Single-A, High-A, Double-A), hitting .333 (.941 OPS) with 21 home runs and 94 RBI in 122 games. He hit .438 in five games with Triple-A Indianapolis this year before getting called to the bigs.

Pittsburgh has now won three straight to move to 4-3 and will host Baltimore again on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET.