Riley Greene’s Season of Growth
Photo courtesy of MLB.com
Riley Green was the 5th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. From ‘20 - ‘21, Riley would the 31st and 21st in the top 100 prospect rankings by MLB Pipeline. Through Riley’s development in the minor leagues, he offered a very advanced skillset. He showed elite contact skills with above-average power to all fields as well as great strike-zone awareness. He’s been able to hold his own playing center field paired with a strong arm. On June 18, 2022, Greene would be called up to the majors against the Texas Rangers where he would record his 1st hit and start his young career.
For the 93 games he would play in ‘22, Greene slashed .253/.321/.362 with 5 home runs, 42 RBI’s and a WAR of 0.8 according to Fangraphs. Defensively, he was +2 in Defensive Runs Saved and +1 in Outs Above Average. Transitioning over to ‘23, Greene has shown strides in his game.
In the 53 games Greene has played in so far in ‘23, his slashline has improved to .302/.379/.449 with a fWAR of 1.7. On May 31st, Greene would be placed on the IL with a fractured fibula. He would return to action on July 8th against the Toronto BlueJays.
Courtesy of BaseballSavant.com
Photo from BaseballSavant.com
Greene’s batted ball data has shown increases in Avg Exit Velo, xBA, xSLG, HardHit%, and xwOBA. These metrics are key to getting more quality contact which will result in more production. Riley Greene has a lot of upside. His maturity mentally and physically has allowed to improve his process at the plate and in turn, his production has improved. The Detroit Tigers have their face of the franchise.
