Hunter Greene pitching for the Reds minor league; CC by License 2.0

In April of 2017, Sports activities Illustrated launched the world to a California highschool phenom when its cowl learn, “He’s 17. He Mashes. He Throws 102. Hunter Greene is the star baseball wants (First he has to complete highschool).” Just a few months later the Cincinnati Reds made Greene the second total decide within the MLB Draft earlier than signing the UCLA decide to a $7.23 million signing bonus. Since then, Greene’s time within the Reds group has been a little bit of a rollercoaster full of promise, accidents, a pandemic, and at last, success on the big-league degree.

In the summertime of 2017, Greene reported to Rookie Ball with the Billings Mustangs the place he struggled mightily with adjusting to going through extra seasoned prospects. In three begins, Greene pitched solely 4.1 innings and surrendered 6 earned runs, pitching to a 12.46 ERA and a 2.077 WHIP. Then a two-way participant, Greene batted .233 and drove in 3 runs for Billings throughout 30 plate appearances.

A yr later, the now 18-year-old prospect joined the low-A Dayton Dragons with the two-way plan having been deserted and the Reds shifting their efforts to creating Greene as a pitcher. Early returns on Greene failed to enhance throughout his time in Dayton as he posted a 3-7 file with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.302 WHIP. Nonetheless, there was some purpose for optimism as Greene struck out 89 batters whereas strolling 23. Sadly, Greene’s 2018 marketing campaign was reduce brief by a sprained UCL in his proper elbow in August. Whereas the membership had initially hoped to keep away from surgical procedure, Greene’s situation failed to enhance and he underwent Tommy John surgical procedure within the Spring of 2019, ending his season earlier than it started.

Because of the pandemic canceling Minor League Baseball in 2020, Greene was unable to make his return to the mound till 2021. To start the 2021 season, Greene was assigned to the AA Chattanooga Lookouts the place he lastly confirmed indicators of being the younger man that Sports activities Illustrated referred to as “Baseball’s LeBron.” In 7 begins in Chattanooga, Greene posted a 5-0 file whereas pitching to a 1.98 ERA with a 1.000 WHIP. Throughout 41 innings, Greene fanned 60 batters and walked 14. In June, Greene was promoted to the AAA Louisville Bats. As a Bat, Greene seemingly returned to lots of his earlier struggles, albeit with extra organizational optimism attributable to his sturdy displaying at Chattanooga. In Louisville, Greene made 14 begins, going 5-8 and pitching to a 4.13 ERA with a 1.286 WHIP. Nonetheless a high-strikeout pitcher, Greene fanned 79 batters throughout 65.1 innings. Greene’s season led to September of that yr when he surpassed his innings restrict set by the Reds’ participant improvement employees.

Buoyed by a robust displaying in Spring Coaching, Greene was elevated to the Reds’ Opening Day roster. In his first Main League look, Greene supplied the Reds with 5 innings of 3-run, 4-hit, 7-strikeout ball. Troublingly, opposing batters launched 11 house runs in Greene’s first six begins. Finally, Greene settled into his new position and pitched somewhat successfully as his rookie season went on, together with tossing a one-hit full recreation shutout in opposition to Arizona in June. Total, Greene posted a 5-13 file in 24 begins as a rookie. He pitched to a 4.44 ERA with a 1.210 WHIP. Greene was beneath the fiftieth percentile in limiting hard-hit balls and barreled contact and allowed very excessive common exit velocity. Nonetheless, Greene’s fastball ranked within the 99th percentile for velocity. Moreover, his Ok% and Whiff % had been effectively above common.

This yr, Greene’s ascent to the highest of the Cincinnati pitching employees has continued to be a rollercoaster experience however he’s displaying indicators of enchancment. Up to now, Greene is 1-4 in 12 begins and is pitching to a 3.92 ERA with a 1.323 WHIP. Moreover, Greene has surrendered a batting common on balls in play of .343, which is decidedly above common and could lead on some to recommend he has been unfortunate. Whereas luck could also be a part of the difficulty, it is very important acknowledge that Greene ranks within the twenty first percentile at limiting exit velocity, that means the balls which can be put in play off him are hit arduous sufficient to trigger issues. Whereas these numbers depart fairly a bit to be desired, Greene seems to have turned the nook of late. Two begins in the past, in opposition to the Cubs, Greene tossed 6 no-hit innings whereas strolling 2 batters and hanging out 11. In his most up-to-date begin on Thursday, he went 6 innings permitting 1 run on 2 hits, 3 walks, and eight strikeouts in opposition to Boston. In his begin at Fenway Park, Greene turned the fourth quickest pitcher to succeed in 250 profession strikeouts as a starter for the reason that mound was moved to 60 toes, 6 inches in 1893.

Whereas his final two begins illustrate the brilliance which Greene is able to, additionally they present his greatest weak spot. Regardless of having fastball velocity within the 98th percentile and equally excessive whiff charges, Greene is solely not pitch environment friendly. In his 6 no-hit innings in opposition to Chicago, Greene required 110 pitches, in 6 innings in opposition to Boston, 109. This lack of effectivity renders Greene unable to pitch deep into ballgames. Greene is at the moment averaging 4.34 pitches per plate look, essentially the most within the Main Leagues, forward of Spencer Strider and MacKenzie Gore. Whereas Greene has proven indicators of enchancment in most areas of his recreation, it appears arduous to imagine that he’ll turn into considerably extra pitch environment friendly as his high-strikeout type lends itself to pitchers being pressured to throw a big quantity of pitches.

Owing to his strikeout capability and potential, the Reds signed Greene to a 6-year $53 Million extension again in April. The extension is the most important the group has ever signed with a pre-arbitration participant and may swell to $90 million with incentives. In signing the extension, Greene joined Felix Hernandez and Spencer Strider because the youngest pitchers to ever signal an extension. For Greene, the deal secures his future in Cincinnati and grants him the monetary safety which many younger gamers can solely want for. For the Reds, the extension represents the chance to lock up a probably precious asset at an inexpensive worth for a six-year interval. This is a crucial transfer for a company that has not made the playoffs, save the pandemic-altered season, since 2013 and has regularly been the topic of headlines and criticism attributable to its unwillingness to own the form of payroll that’s held by many contending golf equipment.

On the finish of the day, the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds seem to have acquired a considerable quantity of offensive expertise and are dependent upon Hunter Greene to take up the mantle of the chief of its pitching employees. At merely 23 years previous and having missed two full years of improvement, it’s affordable to count on Greene to proceed to develop and his occasional flashes of brilliance are definitely sufficient to encourage confidence. Nonetheless, it has not been all sunshine and rainbows for the Cincinnati right-hander as his skilled profession has taken the form of a pitcher who strikes out numerous batters however permits a considerable quantity of arduous contact. Greene’s lack of pitch effectivity limits his capability to grow to be a real Main League ace. Is he as Sports activities Illustrated declared, “Baseball’s LeBron,”? No. However within the age of excessive strikeouts and analytics suggesting that pitchers mustn’t face a lineup for a 3rd time, the Cincinnati Reds had been prepared to guess a big sum of their payroll that Hunter Greene is the star their group wants.

Sources:

Baseball Reference

ESPN

FanGraphs

MLB.com

Sports activities Illustrated

USA At the moment