Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Curve's Konnor Griffin watches Esmerlyn Valdez's RBI single down the line.

Konnor Griffin is just a normal 19-year-old kid who loves his family, his girlfriend, the outdoors and playing video games.

Except Griffin is far from normal, at least talent wise.

The ninth overall pick of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft has skyrocketed up the organizational ladder this season appearing in Low A Bradenton and High A Greensboro before Double-A Altoona. He is part of a Curve team right now in an Eastern League playoff chase with Richmond in town. Altoona won a rain-delayed game, 8-2, Thursday night.

He has excelled at all levels and that might be an understatement which is an achievement in and of itself for any player let alone a 19-year-old who graduated high school last year.

“It’s just a different feeling when I step across the lines to get ready to play a game,” Griffin said. “I feel a sense of peace around me. I feel like I get to do what I do. I’ve been playing this game a long time this year, and so I just get comfortable when I get out there on that field.”

This is in fact his first full year of professional baseball and to look at him on the field, it would be hard to orchestrate that thought, but for Griffin it is just a normal season.

“I’m doing really well,” Griffin said. “I didn’t know what to expect with this being my first season, but I trained super hard. In the off season, I was training six days a week to prepare, but I really don’t think you can do anything to really prepare for how long you’re going to be playing. My body just kind of got used to it, and now we’re rolling. I try to get good sleep, try to eat well for the most part, and then we show up to the field and get our body activated and ready to go.”

Ready to go has been Griffin at all levels where he’s hit above .300 at each stop this season. He’s also playing everyday shortstop for the Curve and is atop the lineup for Andy Fox’s squad night in and night out.

“It takes a special person being able to deal with the ups and downs of playing, you know, a full season,” Fox said. “This is his first full season. He’s playing every day and I think just being able to deal with the grind in and of itself, let alone performing, just being able to deal with the day in, day out, stuff that goes along with playing a little longer, is special.”

Fox has been around his fair share of young, talented players having been a member of the 1996 World Series champion New York Yankees, who at the time, had a young 22-year old shortstop by the name of Derek Jeter when he played his first full season in 1996.

While comparing the trajectory of Griffin to Jeter is far from fair, there are similarities outside of their positions. It’s the way they’re made up mentally that is the separator between themselves and their peers.

“You don’t really see that when kids are 18-19 years old, to have the package that he has, not only physically, that’s one thing, but to have it mentally too is a separator,” Curve infield coordinator and bench coach Gary Green said.

Between the lines, the game comes naturally for Griffin as does the mental aspect of the game which is sometimes harder to teach and emphasize as players handle the ups and downs of the season and their careers.

“They don’t usually come like that. He came this way,” Green said. “Ke’Bryan Hayes was like that on defense when we got him at 18, just ahead of the game. He’s able to slow the game down. They see things quicker than and it’s hard to teach that. He’s a special type of player and person.”

Griffin the player is a potential superstar who could be a keystone piece for an organization desperate to return to winning baseball, but the person, well, he rarely says no to any and all requests, except his teammates who jokingly ask him for a bat after they break theirs.

He’s a rare blend of talent and outgoing personality while being consistently himself and not trying to be somebody or something he’s not. That personality is fully on display whether he’s interacting with the media, fans or his teammates in the clubhouse.

For him, it’s all part of the process and it’s something he takes great pride in handling with relative ease.

“There’s a lot of stressful things going on outside the field, just a lot of requests, a lot of people watching you, but don’t get stressed out. Just enjoy it. You earn to be under the spotlight so just continue to have fun and enjoy.”

To be able to enjoy his career and his life away from the ballpark, Griffin turns to his circle of trust to keep him grounded and himself.

“I just have a really good circle outside the field with my family and my girlfriend and her family,” Griffin said. “Everybody’s been great, and they treat me like a normal human being when I’m off the field so when I do get to the field, and there’s stuff I got to do, interviews, anything like that. I can turn back into a baseball player, but they just give me a good escape from the game.”

When he’s at the field Griffin’s personality shines whether it’s with teammates, interacting with fans or just being on the field. It’s part of what helps make him who he is and something he takes pride in.

“When I show up, I like to bring a lot of energy and like to have fun. I’m a very chill guy,” Griffin said. “I enjoy being with the people around me, being around people that make me a better person, and I try to be a light in this world and bring others to Jesus.”