Orioles vs. Pirates picks: Pittsburgh solid play in home opener, Konnor Griffin's big-league debut Friday

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Griffin's NL ROY odds generally rose to around +500 when he was reassigned to minor league camp on March 21, with Mets righty Nolan McLean (my preseason pick) sliding into the +280 favored spot.

But Griffin is right back atop the DraftKings board with this news at +240, ahead of the Reds ' Sal Stewart (+350), Cardinals ' JJ Wetherholt (+450) and McLean (+600).

There was some thought that the Bucs sent Griffin down simply to delay his service-time clock, but calling him up this early will go ahead and start it.

The 6-foot-3, 222-pounder started the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he had seven hits in his 16 at-bats (.438 AVG, 1.196 OPS) with three stolen bases.

The Pirates and Griffin already are negotiating on a long-term deal to buy out some arbitration years and perhaps a year or two of free agency.

Reports?

Nine years at a max of $140 million.

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The Mariners set a bit of a recent financial precedent by signing top prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million extension this week.

That base salary was the largest ever given to a player with zero service time, and the 20-year-old shortstop hasn't been called up yet.

As for tonight, Griffin's first big-league at-bat will come against solid Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish .

He was a rising star in 2023 before injuries derailed his 2024-25 campaigns for the most part, although he was still good in limited action.

Bradish allowed two earned and two hits over 4.2 innings in losing his 2026 opener to a bad Minnesota team.

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Keller dominated his 2026 opener at the Mets, with six shutout innings and three hits allowed, but yet again got no help from his offense in a no-decision.

Keller is 1-1 with a 0.69 ERA in 13 career innings vs.

Baltimore with 14 strikeouts to just one walk.

New Oriole Pete Alonso can't hit him a lick at 1-for-15 with five Ks.