What a day Thursday turned out to be for Konnor Griffin.

Just a few hours after the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor leaguer found out he was being promoted to the big leagues, Griffin inked a nine-year, $140 million deal — the largest deal ever signed by a player prior to making their MLB debut.

The No. 1 overall prospect in all of baseball according to most experts, Griffin got his first MLB start (and hit) in the Pirates’ home opener Friday against the Orioles. The 19-year-old shortstop is viewed as a can’t-miss, five-tool prospect who has the potential to be a franchise-altering player in Pittsburgh’s lineup for at least the next decade.

Griffin, however, wasn’t the first top prospect to sign a significant contract this month.

After playing the 2025 season in double-A, Cooper Pratt received an eight-year, $50.8 million contract from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the spring. That deal was soon outdone by the Seattle Mariners, who locked up shortstop Colt Emerson on an eight-year, $95 million deal. Emerson, who was born in Zanesville and attended John Glenn High School, is still just 20 years old and is universally considered a top 10 prospect.

The trend of MLB organizations handing out big-time money to players before they’ve even stepped foot in the big leagues is only going to continue to grow.

In fact, there are already rumors from multiple national outlets that the Cincinnati Reds are interested in extending their top young hitter, Sal Stewart. Stewart batted .474 (9 for 19) with two home runs and three doubles in the first six games of the season.

Stewart was named the National League’s Player of the Week, while another Ohio rookie, the Cleveland Guardians’ Chase DeLauter, nabbed AL Player of the Week honors.

DeLauter has four home runs and a 1.122 OPS through six games this season. Will he be the next young phenom to earn a life-changing contact? What about JJ Whetherholt?

The St. Louis Cardinals’ infielder is batting .280 with a homer and four runs-batted-in through six games. The former West Virginia Mountaineer appears to be the real deal, so much so that the Cardinals have reportedly been aggressive in trying to get a contract done.

Between Griffin, Pratt, Emerson, Stewart, DeLauter and Wetherholt, there are only 127 combined major league at-bats. Still, teams feel confident enough to make sizable financial commitments to keep these players in their uniforms.

Handing out such large sums of money to unproven players based purely on potential certainly has its risks. There’s always the possibility that Griffin or Emerson or any of these young players end up flopping.

On the flip side, it’s also possible they live up to or even exceed the expectations. Then, the contracts they signed end up looking like bargains.

For teams like the Pirates, Guardians and Reds who don’t typically spend tons of money, getting ahead of the market is the smartest play.

As the old expression goes — “Scared money don’t make money.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.