With the 5th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers chose Riley Green, an outfielder from Hagerty HS in Oviedo, FL. After being selected, Greene signed with the Tigers for a $6,180,700 signing bonus and started his professional baseball career with the Gulf Coast League where he caught fire and hit .351 (13-37) over nine games with three doubles and a couple of longballs. Greene made his way up to Detroit’s A ball affiliate West Michigan by the end of the 2019 minor league season. The left-handed hitting outfielder’s season stat line saw him hitting .271 (60-221) with eight doubles, three triples and five homers. The Florida native caught everyone’s attention when he .417 (5-12) with a couple of dingers during spring training the following year. He has shown a lot of promise at the plate and if he has a strong 2021 campaign, he could possibly squeeze his way in as a September callup at just 20 years old.
Detroit Tigers No. 3 Prospect Riley Greene OF
20 Years Old | Throw: L | Bat: L | 6’3 200 | ETA: 2021
| Hit | Raw Power | Power | Field | Arm | Speed | FV |
| 35/60 | 60/60 | 40/55 | 50/55 | 50/55 | 50/45 | 55 |
Hit 35/60
Greene hits from an even, crouched stance with a medium handset with his bat very close to his shoulder in between pitches, sometimes tapping his bat onto his shoulder. He has very good bat control and some loft to his swing with the ability to turn on inside pitches. Despite showing some struggle against changeups, Greene shows the ability to barrel the ball and hit opposite field. An advanced bat coming out of the prep ranks, he has a patient approach at the plate and his hit tool should continue to progress nicely in the following seasons to come and could escalate him into the MLB by the end of the 2021 season.
Power 40/55
While there is some loft to his swing, he has more of a pure swing with gap power as he looks to make more contact. He still should have enough pop in his swing to produce 25+ homers consistently with a few 30 homer seasons sprinkled in there as he continues to get stronger and more doubles translate into homeruns. During 2021’s spring training, Greene registered an exit velocity of 115.8 mph for a double off the right centerfield wall in a game. The lefthanded slugger’s power should continue to improve as well as he adds to his build.
Glove 50/55
In his first spring training invite in 2020, Riley Greene made an incredible leaping catch to rob CJ Cron of a homerun over the leftfield wall in an intrasquad game as well as robbing Austin Romine of extra bases in a diving effort. He times the ball well and has good range and should be a good fit in leftfield with his lefthanded prowess and athleticism. Greene does not have much more developing to do with his glove and should grade out as an above average outfielder and projects to be a corner outfielder with more time in leftfield.
Arm 50/55
Greene has an accurate arm in the outfield, but his arm strength has a bit of developing to do. His throws are in line to his target. With a fuller season in play, there should be plenty more opportunities for the lefty to test his arm strength.
Speed 50/45
He has enough speed presently to utilize on the base paths, however, he could slow down a bit as he gets stronger. His home to first is right around 4.2 seconds giving him Major League average speed and with his present strides, he could stretch some singles into doubles.
Future Value 55
Riley Greene could anchor the Detroit Tigers outfield for years to come both with his above average glove and his plus bat and hit either in front of or behind Spencer Torkelson. Greene boasts four above average tools and looks to hit around .280 regularly with 25+ homeruns hitting 30 a few times to go along with 30+ doubles regularly. The Florida native has a very bright future in the Motor City with the potential to be a middle of the order hitter for a lineup that will boast Torkelson. Tigers fans will be excited to see the combination of Greene and Tork for years to come.
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