Embed from Getty Images He is just 18 years old. Yet, one of the Detroit Tigers most prized prospects is being compared to a Hall of Fame player. Starting his professional baseball career at the instructional Connecticut Tigers, Riley Greene lasted just 24 games. Because he was simply too good for the league.
Riley Greene has been promoted to Grand Rapids to the West Michigan Whitecaps. In his first game with the Whitecaps, Greene doubled, had an inside-the-park home run and 3 R.B.I.’s. He was not done. As of Saturday Greene is hitting .306
Coming out of high school scouts reported Greene did not have the speed to play center field. Yet the same night he debuted Riley Greene chased down a hit in the gap, splayed out for an amazing diving catch.
Scouts have changed their tune. Riley Greene is the total package. One scout said “It has been a small sample size, but the polish to his game is more than I expected.” Greene’s play and speed has pushed another Detroit Tigers top prospect (Parker Meadows) to right field.
One long time MLB general manager said “Riley Greene is a generational player. You can see the skill set and it compares to Ken Griffey Jr. Same smooth swing, makes consistent contact with the ball and can run down anything in the out field.”
It is one thing for fans of a team to compare players, it is another thing all together when a long time well respected general manager makes the comparison.
It is still early in the process, but the Detroit Tigers appear to have the next face-of-the-franchise player. Before the Tigers 2019 first round draft pick ever played a game, he was tabbed to arrive in Detroit in 2023. Given his current trajectory Tiger and baseball fans will not have to wait that long. I think 2021 is a more realistic time frame.
