Tigers contain No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin in 5-3 loss to Pirates
LAKELAND, FL – The Detroit Tigers lost, 5-3, against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, March 7, at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in spring training.
Detroit is 3-7-3 in Grapefruit League play.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts ( Apple , Spotify ) ]
What happened
The consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball arrived in TigerTown on Saturday.
His name is Konnor Griffin.
Griffin, a 19-year-old shortstop, hasn't played above Double-A Altoona, but he is trying to become the youngest player in an Opening Day game since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989 – and the first teenage position player in an MLB game since Juan Soto in 2018.
LAST DANCE? Justin Verlander isn't hiding with Tigers: 2026 could be final season
In Saturday's game, Griffin was held in check by the Tigers across two matchups with right-hander Casey Mize (single, strikeout), one clash with left-handed reliever Tyler Holton (strikeout) and one battle with right-handed reliever Burch Smith (lineout).
He finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
This spring, Griffin is hitting .200 (4-for-20) with three home runs, zero walks and four strikeouts in eight games, spanning 22 plate appearances. (In 2025, he hit .337 with five home runs, seven walks and 23 strikeouts in 21 games after his Double-A promotion.)
While Griffin is MLB's No. 1 prospect, Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle ranks as the consensus No. 2 prospect. The 21-year-old entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning and finished 0-for-2 at the plate, with flyouts in both the sixth and ninth.
Starting off
It was Mize's third game of spring training.
The 28-year-old allowed three runs on four hits and one walk with one strikeout across 3⅓ innings, throwing 59 pitches. He couldn't complete the second inning after needing 29 pitches to record just two outs, but the re-entry rule in spring training allowed him to return for the third.
Mize had an eight-pitch first and an 11-pitch third, then threw 11 pitches for two outs in the fourth.
AWAY FROM CAMP: Why Tigers' Tarik Skubal joined Team USA for World Baseball Classic
The Pirates took a 3-0 lead with four consecutive baserunners in the second inning: Jhostynxon Garcia (single), Dominic Fletcher (hit by pitch), Esmerlyn Valdez (two-RBI single) and Termarr Johnson (RBI single).
The singles from Garcia and Valdez were off sliders, with the single from Johnson off a fastball.
Mize generated just three whiffs (from three splitters) on 26 swings for a below-average 11.5% whiff rate, including zero whiffs on eight swings against his fastball, which averaged just 93.3 mph.
The velocity on all five of his pitches was down.
But that can be typical for starters at the halfway point of camp.
At the plate
The Tigers were shut down by left-hander Hunter Barco in the first two innings, only to mirror the Pirates with four consecutive baserunners against him in the third inning.
The four baserunners: Colt Keith (single), Jake Rogers (single), Zach McKinstry (walk) and Austin Slater (two-RBI double).
Slater – a right-handed hitter with a track record of crushing lefties who signed a minor-league contract – smoked a first-pitch elevated 94.1 mph fastball from Barco to right field, driving in two runs.
It cut the Tigers ' deficit to 3-2.
The Tigers tied the game, 3-3, on an ensuing groundout from Wenceel Pérez.
In eight games, Slater is hitting .313 (5-for-16) with one home run, three walks and four strikeouts, spanning 20 plate appearances. The 33-year-old is a nine-year MLB veteran who combined for 65 games last season with the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees .
The next-best scoring opportunity for the Tigers came in the sixth inning, when Kerry Carpenter ripped a down-and-in sinker from right-handed reliever Thomas Harrington and hustled for a leadoff triple.
Carpenter was stranded by Spencer Torkelson (flyout), Riley Greene (strikeout) and McGonigle (flyout).
On the mound
Holton impressed out of the bullpen.
He recorded the final out in the fourth inning, stranding the leadoff runner from Mize's walk on second base, then delivered a perfect fifth inning – doing it all on just 13 pitches.
ROSTER MOVES: Drew Sommers among 5 Tigers players cut in spring camp
Holton struck out Griffin on three pitches in a row.
The three-pitch sequence: 77.6 mph curveball for a called strike, 83.9 mph changeup for a swinging strike and 85.5 mph cutter for a swinging strike. The first pitch stole a strike in the middle of the zone, and the next two pitches were painted on the outside edge.
The Tigers also received scoreless relief performances from Smith and fellow right-handers Yosber Sanchez and Ricky Vanasco , while right-handers Scott Effross and Brenan Hanifee allowed one run apiece.
Three stars
1. Austin Slater, 2. Tyler Holton, 3. Burch Smith.
Next up
Sunday (1:07 p.m.) vs. Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers lose spring training game to Pirates, contain No. 1 prospect
