Hunter Greene headed for Triple-A
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CINCINNATI -- Reds No. 2 prospect Hunter Greene is getting a promotion that will bring him one step away from pitching in the Major Leagues.
A source told MLB.com on Sunday that Greene will be moving up from Double-A Chattanooga to make his next start for Triple-A Louisville. The roster move will be made official on Monday or Tuesday and he will pitch for Louisville later this week at Omaha.
Ranked No. 2 in the organization and No. 57 overall by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old Greene is 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in seven starts for Chattanooga. In 41 innings, the right-hander has allowed 27 hits and 14 walks while striking out 60.
Greene pitched six innings on Friday, allowing two hits and recording nine strikeouts during Chattanooga’s 1-0 win over Pensacola. His fastball touched 102 mph as he outdueled another elite prospect in the No. 22 ranked Max Meyer from the Marlins organization.
The righty registered 15 swinging strikes with his fastball, slider, cutter, changeup and threw 67 of his 106 pitches for strikes.
“The main focus is to being able to continue to work on my secondary pitches. Being able to trust the changeup and throw that more often,” Greene said after the game. “The slider, [I will] continue to perfect that and be able to throw that in any count and any situation, because if I’m able to execute those pitches, the fastball is going to play that much better. It’ll look faster and I’m going to be able to move it around a lot more.”
In many of his starts, Greene routinely brings his fastball velocity to over 100 mph.
The No. 2 overall selection in the 2017 MLB Draft, Greene sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the ’18 season at the low-Class A level with Dayton. He eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2019, after a torn UCL had developed.
Greene pitched at the Reds’ alternate site with no Minor League season in 2020 and appeared in a big league Spring Training game for the first time this year. His first three pitches of that game vs. the Angels registered at 101, 102 and 103 mph on the radar gun.