Riley Greene
Greene with the Toledo Mud Hens in 2021
Detroit Tigers – No. 31
Outfielder
Born: (2000-09-28) September 28, 2000 (age 23)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 18, 2022, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.271
Home runs16
Runs batted in79
Teams

Riley Greene (born September 28, 2000) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted fifth overall by the Tigers in the 2019 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Greene attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida, where he played on their baseball team alongside Vaughn Grissom.[1][2] In 2018, he played for Team USA in the U-18 Pan-American Championships.[3] As a senior in 2019, he hit .422 with eight home runs and 27 runs batted in (RBIs).[4] He committed to play college baseball at the University of Florida.[5]

Professional career

Greene was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[6][5] He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the fifth overall pick. On June 5, the Tigers signed Greene to a contract with a $6.18 million signing bonus.[7][8]

Greene made his professional debut on June 24, 2019, for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Tigers.[9] In July, he was promoted to the Connecticut Tigers of the Low–A New York-Penn League, and in August, he earned a promotion to the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Single–A Midwest League.[10] Over 57 games between the three clubs, he slashed .271/.347/.403 with five home runs and 28 RBIs.[11] Greene did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Greene began the 2021 season with the Erie SeaWolves of the Double-A Northeast.[13] In June, he was selected to represent the Tigers in the All-Star Futures Game alongside Spencer Torkelson.[14] In August, he was promoted to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Triple-A East.[15] Over 124 games between the two clubs, Greene slashed .301/.387/.534 with 24 home runs, 84 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 25 doubles, and eight triples.[16] He was named the 4th best prospect in baseball in Baseball America's annual Top 100 list for 2022.[17]

The Tigers planned to include Greene on their Opening Day roster for the 2022 season, but he broke his right foot and missed the start of the season.[18][19] On June 18, 2022, the Tigers purchased Greene's contract, adding him to the active roster, and he made his Major League debut that afternoon. In his first at-bat, he hit a single.[20]

On July 2, 2022, Greene hit a walk-off home run off of Joel Payamps of the Kansas City Royals for his first career MLB home run. He became the first Tigers player since Lou Whitaker in 1978 to accomplish this feat.[21][22] Greene was named the 2022 Detroit Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Media Association and Tiger of the Year by the Detroit Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

In 2023, Greene played in 99 games for Detroit, hitting .288/.349/.447 with 11 home runs, 37 RBI, and 7 stolen bases.[23] On September 2, 2023, Greene was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.[24] On September 19, it was announced that he would undergo surgery to repair his non–throwing elbow.[25] The next day, the Tigers announced that Greene had undergone Tommy John surgery, and would likely be ready by the start of the 2024 season.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Tigers potential top draft pick Riley Greene — 'It's not normal what he does'". Detroit Free Press.
  2. ^ "Gators Commit Riley Greene Building Legacy At Hagerty". www.mynews13.com.
  3. ^ Adler, David (June 3, 2019). "10 things to know about Riley Greene". MLB.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  4. ^ "Tigers take Florida OF Riley Greene in MLB.com mock draft". Detroit News. May 24, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Hilburn-Trenkle, Chris. "Riley Greene, 2019 Florida Baseball Commit, Catches Scouts' Eyes At 2018 Tournament Of Stars". www.baseballamerica.com.
  6. ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball.
  7. ^ Beck, Jason (June 5, 2019). "Tigers sign top Draft pick Riley Greene". MLB.com. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  8. ^ Fenech, Anthony (June 5, 2019). "Detroit Tigers sign top draft pick Riley Greene to $6.18M contract". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Woodbery, Evan (June 24, 2019). "Tigers' Riley Greene makes debut with a bang in rookie league". mlive.com. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "Greene rides his wave to Whitecaps". MiLB.com.
  11. ^ "How No. 1 pick Riley Greene performed during a busy first season as a pro". mlive. September 3, 2019.
  12. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
  13. ^ "Tork, Greene knocking on Toledo's door". MLB.com.
  14. ^ "Futures Game rosters are STACKED". MLB.com.
  15. ^ "Detroit Tigers promote Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Ryan Kreidler to Triple-A Toledo".
  16. ^ Petzold, Evan (December 11, 2011). "Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene passes Spencer Torkelson on prospect list". Freep.com. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Petzold, Evan (January 19, 2022). "Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson ranked among Top 5 prospects in baseball". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  18. ^ "Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene has fracture in foot, out indefinitely". Freep.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  19. ^ Petzold, Evan (April 5, 2022). "Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene reacts to injury, missing Opening Day". Freep.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  20. ^ Petzold, Evan (June 17, 2022). "Detroit Tigers top prospect Riley Greene to be called up for MLB debut". Freep.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  21. ^ Beck, Jason (July 2, 2022). "Greene walks it off in style with first MLB HR". MLB.com. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Woodbery, Evan (July 2, 2022). "Tigers rookie Riley Greene's first MLB home run was an unforgettable one".
  23. ^ "Greene undergoes Tommy John surgery". mlb.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  24. ^ "Tigers' Riley Greene: Lands on injured list". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  25. ^ "Tigers' Riley Greene: Undergoing surgery Wednesday". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  26. ^ "Tigers outfielder Riley Greene undergoes Tommy John surgery". espn.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.

External links

2019 Major League Baseball draft first round selections
Detroit Tigers first-round draft picks
Detroit Tigers current roster
Categories