Drew Aller

He did it last year.

I think, you know, to expect him to hit, you know, to play at least 125 games is not out of the realm of possibility, regardless of whether he starts the season with the Pirates or not.

Yeah, well, for one, it was a very college-heavy draft, and there was a lot of guys.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Nick Kurtz might have been in that draft, too.

There was a lot of talent in that draft.

I'm pretty sure that was the one where Travis Bozzano went number one overall, but

But yeah, he was the first prep player taken.

So consider that, that this is a guy who there was concerns about his swing because of his size, because of the long levers with his arms, that he has a big strike zone and he had a long swing.

And to his credit, Connor Griffin has...

made modifications and adapted better than anybody ever expected.

The one question is whether he could hit with any consistency.

They knew he had the power when he did make contact.

They knew that he had all the other tools.

I just think that when they drafted him, he was around 200 or 210.

When he showed up to spring training last year, he was 225.

This is a guy who really put the work in.

That, to me, is part of showing the maturity beyond the years.

is when you identify your weaknesses and attack them.

That's what great players do.

Good players rely on their strengths and try to mask their weaknesses.