Friday, April 03

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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today’s edition is brought to you by David Adler.

The clock is ticking down to Konnor Griffin’s Major League debut for the Pirates this afternoon. 

Baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect is just 19 years and 344 days old. The big question: Can he turn into a superstar like some of the other teen phenoms who came before him? 

When Griffin takes the field at shortstop for Pittsburgh’s home opener (4:12 p.m. ET, MLB.TV/MLB Network/SportsNet Pittsburgh/MASN), he’ll be following in the footsteps of some iconic players who were also talented enough to reach the big leagues before their 20th birthday. 

Here are five teenage hitters who blazed the trail for Griffin: 

1) Juan Soto 

MLB debut: 19 years, 207 days old in 2018

Even for an elite hitting prospect, playing in the Majors in your teens is rare. Soto was the last teen hitter to play an MLB game before Griffin, and that was back in 2018. Soto is one of the best hitters in the world today — and he was one of the best hitters in the world as a 19-year-old rookie with the Nationals, too, when he was the youngest player in the Majors. Soto had one of the best teenage seasons ever, batting .292 with 22 home runs and a .923 OPS. And that was just the beginning.

2) Bryce Harper 

MLB debut: 19 years, 195 days old in 2012

Maybe the defining teenage player of this generation for Griffin to follow, Harper has had otherworldly expectations heaped on him ever since he was anointed “Baseball’s Chosen One” on the cover of Sports Illustrated at just 16 years old. Somehow, from the day he debuted as a 19-year-old in 2012, Harper has lived up to all those expectations. He was the NL Rookie of the Year with the Nationals that first season, and now he’s a two-time MVP and eight-time All-Star.

3) Mike Trout 

MLB debut: 19 years, 335 days old in 2011

The funny thing is, Trout was actually pretty bad as a teenager — he hit .220 as a 19-year-old with the Angels in 2011. But clearly there was a reason he was being called up. Trout had explosive talent, and by the next year at age 20, he was basically the best player in baseball. Trout broke out as the same type of dynamic power-speed star that Griffin can be, and after 15 years in the Majors, he’s a three-time MVP, 11-time All-Star and likely Hall of Famer. 

4) Alex Rodriguez 

MLB debut: 18 years, 346 days old in 1994

Griffin is a shortstop phenom in A-Rod’s mold — like a young Rodriguez was, Griffin is a five-tool talent at the position who can do everything. A-Rod actually debuted in the Majors at 18 years old in 1994, and while it took him a couple of years to come into his own, once he did, he became one of the greatest all-around shortstops to ever play the position. Rodriguez collected 1,535 hits, hit 345 home runs, stole 177 bases and won two Gold Gloves and an MVP in his decade as a shortstop with the Mariners and Rangers before he moved to third base with the Yankees.

5) Ken Griffey Jr. 

MLB debut: 19 years, 133 days old in 1989

If Bryce is the defining teenage baseball player of the last 15 years, Griffey might be the most iconic teen player, period. The Kid debuted in Seattle as a 19-year-old in 1989, five years before A-Rod, and introduced the baseball world to the sweetest swing of all time. The teen phenoms who become superstars tend to have the electric all-around skill set Griffey was famous for. He was a center fielder, but Griffin has the blueprint from Griffey.    

 

WHAT MAKES GRIFFIN SO SPECIAL? WE ASKED

Griffin has been turning heads since Spring Training. We asked Dawn Klemish, who covered Griffin this spring, to tell us what makes him special: 

The talent is undeniable, but the poise might be what sticks.

For Griffin, spring was as much about the flashes of what’s to come as it was about adapting. He showed an ability to “slow the game down” almost in real time, pairing elite bat speed with a feel beyond his years (just ask teammate Paul Skenes).

Griffin’s power is real. We saw it from his first spring homer. But what stands out more is how he got here. He tightened his swing, sharpened his decisions, and, as he put it: started to feel “comfortable … just being present.”

Griffin’s maturity has been building behind the scenes, shaped by hard work and guidance from staff and teammates.

His debut isn’t about perfection. There’ll be growing pains, but watch Griffin’s response. If this spring showed anything, it’s that he’s ready to show up … and to stick around.

Plus, here’s what the people around Griffin have been saying about him since Spring Training: 

Paul Skenes: “I’m excited to have him help us win a lot of games in Pittsburgh this year.”

Pirates manager Don Kelly: “The way he’s carrying himself now … the sky’s the limit for him.”

Former Pirates manager (and current Twins manager) Derek Shelton: “His ability to play the infield, his ability to play [defense], the power, the way he moves on the bases — this kid’s going to be a superstar. He’s fun to watch.”

Phillip Wellman, Griffin’s bench coach at High-A Greensboro: “So far, Konnor’s on track just like Fernando [Tatis Jr.] was. To me, that’s the closest comp.” (Wellman managed Tatis in the Minors in the Padres organization in 2017 and ’18.) 

GRIFFEY TAKES AUGUSTA

It’s a tradition unlike any other. And Ken Griffey Jr. is a part of it … behind the camera. 

Griffey — yes, that Griffey, the Baseball Hall of Famer Griffey — is now a photographer who snaps some of the biggest events in sports. He was just at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where we got to talk to him about the parallels between baseball and photography. 

And he was at the 2025 Masters as a credentialed photographer for the most iconic golf tournament in the world.  

And now there’s a documentary all about it. 

This Sunday is the premiere of “Photographer 24” — a documentary following Griffey as he photographed last year’s Masters. 

Watch the documentary about Griffey’s Masters photography on Peacock, where it will be available to stream after its premiere.  

WAIT, WHO HAS MLB’S BEST STUFF?

Which pitcher do you think has the best stuff in baseball right now? Maybe Tarik Skubal? Or if not him, then Skenes, surely? 

Well that’s not what the numbers say. As of today, the pitcher with the best stuff in the Majors in 2026 is … Taj Bradley. 

Taj Bradley? Really? Yes, really. The Twins right-hander — who has a 0.87 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings this season after a gem yesterday — has been awesome so far. 

And he is sitting at the very top of FanGraphs’ 2026 “Stuff+” rankings. Stuff+ looks ONLY at the physical characteristics of a pitch — the velocity, spin, movement and so on — to grade how purely “nasty” a pitcher is. 

Bradley has a 117 Stuff+ score right now. That means his stuff is 17% better than an average pitcher (100). And all four of the 25-year-old’s pitches grade out as way above average — a 97 mph fastball, an 89 mph cutter, a 91 mph splitter and an 82 mph curveball. 

Here’s what each of Bradley’s four pitches looks like — using a strikeout of a star hitter to highlight each one (Bobby Witt Jr. for the fastball and cutter, Gunnar Henderson for the splitter and Pete Alonso for the curveball): 

That type of stuff is why the Twins traded for Bradley last season and were willing to give up star reliever Griffin Jax to get him.  

ONE GAME. TWO KNUCKLEBALLERS.

It’s the pitchers’ duel we never thought could happen: knuckleballer vs. knuckleballer. 

There are barely any knuckleball pitchers in baseball, period. So two pitching against each other in the same game? That never happens.

But it did yesterday in Triple-A, when El Paso’s Matt Waldron and Tacoma’s Gabe Mosser faced off. 

The last time we know about that two knuckleballers pitched in the same game was all the way back in 2000, when Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox faced Steve Sparks of the Tigers. 

Jesse Borek has you covered with all the juicy details and highlights from the Waldron-Mosser knuckleball duel. 

NACHO HATS ARE BIGGER IN TEXAS

The Rangers are taking “filled to the brim” to another level. In an homage to Tex-Mex and Texas-sized appetites, the club presents: the 9th Inning Rally Sombrero. 

This massive piece of headwear features a bucket of nacho chips as its crown and a heaping helping of toppings around the brim for easy dipping access, with the fixings atop a tortilla base that wraps around the headwear.

And there’s no better time to sample this culinary chapeau than now, as the Rangers begin a six-game homestand that includes today’s home opener — as well as a Retro Ceramic Bobblehead Giveaway on April 8when the club takes on the division-rival Mariners.  

 

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