2024 MLB Draft Profile: Konnor Griffin

NAME: Konnor Griffin
SCHOOL: Jackson Prep. (MS)
POSITION: OF/SS
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’4″, 210 lbs
B/T: R/R
D.O.B.: April 24, 2006
COMMITTED: LSU

Draft Scouting Report

Reclassifying from the 2025 class to 2024, Konnor Griffin was the noted as the top prep prospect heading into the draft season and is one of the youngest players eligible to be drafted in the class. Throughout the 2024 season the LSU commit hasn’t done anything to dissuade those initial rankings. Griffin has been a force for Jackson Prep as they won their seventh straight Mississippi state title.

While Mississippi high school baseball isn’t the same type hotbed of talent that you typically see from states like California or Florida, Griffin has posted video game numbers during his prep tenure as both a hitter and pitcher, but the most eye popping numbers he posted came on the base-paths, as he had 85 stolen bases in 43 games played this season, which led all high school players across the nation.

Back to back nights with a HR for Konnor Griffin. Up to 7 on the year. Damn near put a ball through the centerfield fence the previous at-bat. This one was torched. pic.twitter.com/uEByg8RWTi

— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) April 6, 2024

Griffin was named the 2024 player of the year for the State of Mississippi by MaxPreps and has also been a member of Team USA 15U and 18U teams in 2021 and 2023 respectively. Additionally, the 18-year-old was named a 2024 Preseason All-American by Baseball America. In the same piece from Baseball America, Griffin was voted as the best athlete, third fastest runner, and best outfield arm. In regards to the entire draft class, the Mississippi native checks in as the ninth ranked prospect according to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, ninth by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, ninth by Prospects Live, 10th by Keith Law of The Athletic, and 11th by the Future Stars Series.

Across several publications and write-ups, Griffin has been labeled as the most “tooled-up” prospect in the class and it’s easy to see why he garners such praise. The LSU commit stands at 6’4″ weighing 210 lbs and has the ability to impact every facet of the game. As noted above, he saw time both on the mound and in the field during his prep career, being able to hit 96 mph on the bump, but his biggest impact would be in the field rather than the mound.

Konnor Griffin, potential first-round pick in 2024.
6-4, 210 lbs at 17, elite athleticism, premium tools. LSU commit. pic.twitter.com/kMZMnPoLMT

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) November 30, 2023

Offensively, he has the big league frame that teams covet with legitimate five-tool potential. Griffin possesses elite bat speed while displaying solid control of the zone with an advanced approach that makes consistent hard contact in-game with the projection of plus-potential raw power once he matures. There is some length in the swing given his size and more consistency with the hit tool would be ideal, but he improved as the summer rolled along alleviating some of those initial concerns.

Defensively, Griffin has plus-plus speed with a plus arm that could become eventually become plus-plus while having the potential to be an above average defender at shortstop or plus-plus potential in the outfield given his speed and range. The consensus industry belief is that he has the instincts to get better reads on the grass and would make a bigger impact defensively there as opposed to on the dirt.

Why Would the White Sox Draft Konnor Griffin?

This will be the first draft under GM Chris Getz, as Mike Shirley will be leading the club into his fifth draft with promising results (so far) on his first round track record. There has been considerable buzz with the White Sox being in to see most of the players rumored in the top 10, although there seems to be rumblings that they may be intrigued by the two top prep options that are expected to be available.

One of the main areas of need for the White Sox farm system, and the major league team in general, is impact bats. After bringing in Brian Bannister to help reshape the club’s pitching program, the organization has seen promising results with several arms progressing and excelling across multiple levels in 2024. However, high impact bats are still lacking in the system and is most definitely a vital area of need. Konnor Griffin would help the White Sox improve in that specific area immediately given his tooled-up skill set.

Griffin would immediately become the best outfield prospect in the system or quite possibly a top three infield prospect in the system if they wanted to keep him on the dirt (if that’s how the White Sox chose to deploy him). Griffin can do it all on the field and would ideally provide the White Sox with another legitimate five-tool threat on their roster. It’s also possible that Griffin could be signed for under slot (fifth pick value is $7,763,700), which helps the White Sox ability to bring in better talent later in the draft especially since they have three day one picks after the Gregory Santos trade in February.

Mock Draft Outcomes

Mock drafts have all been pretty consistent on when they expect Griffin to be selected, predicting he’s (generally) selected within the top 10 picks. In Jim Callis’ latest mock for MLB Pipeline, he had Griffin being selected at pick number 11 to Detroit, but does mention the White Sox as a possible landing spot. Jonathan Mayo’s most recent mock for MLB Pipeline saw Griffin being selected by Washington at pick 10. Joe Doyle of Future Star Series most recent update has Griffin being selected by the White Sox at pick five, noting that “there continues to be a ton of buzz surrounding the Chicago White Sox and high school blue chips at pick No. 5”. The crew over at Prospects Live also had the White Sox selecting Griffin in their last mock.

In Baseball America’s Mock Draft Version 3.0, Carlos Collazo sent Griffin to the Nationals with the 10th selection. Keith Law of The Athletic also had Griffin pegged to the Nationals with the 10th overall pick, as well as our James Fox, who had Griffin being selected by the Nationals. In Kiley McDaniel’s most recent update for ESPN, he had Griffin being selected by Boston at pick 12.