Which MLB prospect should be next to get long-term contract extension?

The Baltimore Orioles on Friday became the latest team to sign a prospect with little or no experience in the major leagues to a long-term contract extension. They signed top catching prospect Samuel Basallo to an eight-year, $67M contract extension not long after calling him up to the majors.

It is a bold move, but not one that's totally unheard of in modern baseball. It's a way for teams to get some cost certainty on a player they anticipate being a star, it's guaranteed money for a young player who would spend the next six years playing for set amounts and it is also some security for that player in the event they do not pan out or get injured. 

Now that Basallo in the majors and signed, it is worth asking who the next prospect to get that sort of investment should be.

It's actually a very easy answer: It's infield prospect Konnor Griffin of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Griffin has rocketed his way through the Pirates system and is already up to Double-A at the age of 19. He has also rocketed his way up MLB's prospect rankings and has become the top prospect in the game across pretty much every prospect-ranking publication.

He's not just the best prospect in the Pirates system. He's the best prospect in baseball.

If the Pirates were smart, they would be coming to him at some point over the next year and presenting him with several different long-term contract proposals. 

For one, Griffin is the type of prospect the Pirates do not typically have. He's a position prospect in an organization that is devoid of major league hitters, and he's the best one they have had come through their system in years. He's a potential superstar and franchise-changing player.

Second, if he becomes the type of player the Pirates and the scouting world envision him to be, he is going to quickly play his way out of the Pirates' price range. The best chance they have to keep him beyond a couple of arbitration years is to get him signed as early as possible when he is still somewhat affordable.

Is it a risk? Certainly, it is. He might not pan out. But he also might, at which point they will have a bargain on their hands and a potential core player locked in place. 

The biggest obstacle standing in their way would be the tight pursestrings of owner Bob Nutting. He is hesitant to give out any sort of long-term investment or pay players any sort of big money. He doesn't like spending big money on proven veterans in free agency. The thought of giving an unproven prospect that sort of contract probably sends him into a fit of rage. 

Sometimes, though, if you are serious about winning as a small-market team, you have to take the occasional risk. This would be a risk worth taking and would probably be a nice olive branch to a frustrated fan base that is infuriated with everything the team does.