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Pirates make surprising Konnor Griffin decision

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a surprising decision on star shortstop Konnor Griffin ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

Pittsburgh is at home for a four-game series against Chicago and won the series opener on Monday by a score of 2-1. Ahead of Tuesday’s game, the Pirates released their lineup, and Griffin is leading off and playing shortstop.

Pittsburgh’s lineup is as follows:

• K. Griffin SS
• B. Lowe 2B
• B. Reynolds LF
• N. Gonzales 3B
• O. Cruz CF
• M. Ozuna DH
• E. Valdez RF
• S. Horwitz 1B
• H. Davis C

This will be Griffin’s first-ever team batting leadoff in the MLB, so it’s an intriguing decision the Pirates are making.

Griffin is hitting .262 with 3 home runs and 20 RBIs this season with the Pirates. The 20-year-old was selected ninth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft out of high school and has already reached the majors.

Pirates Manager Tossed After Arguing Griffin HBP

In the series opener against the Cubs on Monday, Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected after arguing that Konnor Griffin got hit by a pitch.

Griffin felt like he got hit in the helmet and took his batting gear off and started to walk to first base, but the umpire didn’t say he got hit. After the Pirates challenged, the call was confirmed that he wasn’t hit, which Kelly didn’t agree with.

“Seeing the replay, [I] felt like it definitely grazed his helmet. You got a kid in Konnor Griffin that is not going to lie,” Kelly said postgame. “There is no way that Konnor Griffin is going to lie about that.”

After arguing the call, Kelly was immediately tossed, and he said he’s just trying to have his players’ backs.

“I will always have Konnor’s back, and all the guys’ backs,” Kelly said.

Bucs bench coach Kristopher Negrón took over for the remainder of the game, as Pittsburgh picked up a 2-1 win in the first game of a four-game series.

Griffin Battling for Rookie of the Year Award

Amid Griffin’s hot start, he’s in the running to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

ESPN MLB analyst Bradford Doolittle shared his latest award watch and has Griffin third in the award, behind the leader JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart. However, Doolittle believes Griffin is a name to watch to win the award amid his hot start.

“Konnor Griffin began the season in the majors and started fairly slow. But the numbers have edged up, and he already looks like a player who has been a stalwart at shortstop for the Pirates for years. His 10.7-point jump in AXE during May is tops among NL rookies,” Doolittle wrote.

“Griffin’s tools have stood out already, as illustrated by his 99th percentile ranking in sprint speed and 91st percentile rank in bat speed. His defensive numbers have room to grow and, most importantly, so do his swing decisions. And yet he already is up to third in this race. The kid doesn’t look or play like a kid, and he appears to be a quick learner.”

Griffin signed a nine-year, $140 million deal with the Pirates.