Givanni Damico | June 1st, 2019

Riley Greene, OF (Hagerty High School in Florida)

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 191 lbs

Age: 18

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

MLB Pipeline Grades – Hit: 60 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

Riley Greene is an outfielder from Hagerty High School in Florida. He is very athletic and strong with room to fill out. His swing from the left side of the plate is very sweet and fluid. While you won’t see him stealing 40 bases a year, Greene is still an advanced base runner with good instincts. Many scouts say that Greene has the best bat in this draft class. He was selected to play in the 2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Strengths:

While it seems to be a toss-up based on who you ask, Greene is the best high school pure hitter in this draft class. He has a very smooth swing and an advanced approach at the plate that helps him limit strikeouts. Because of how level his swing is, he is more of a line drive hitter, but recently has started putting the ball in the air more. He has some sneaky speed on the basepaths and in the field, which his MLB Pipeline grade doesn’t show. His power is raw, but the most important thing is that it is there. Nobody doubts his ability to hit for power at the next level.

Weaknesses:

Greene has a below-average arm in the outfield. He isn’t quite fast enough to play center field, so he will more than likely spend his career as a left fielder. His lack of power in high school is a concern to some because they don’t know if it will emerge at the next level or not. There is a lot of mystique behind Greene that may be looked at as “bust potential”. If he doesn’t hit, he won’t be very useful on an MLB roster.

Overview:

Riley Greene does a great job at putting the ball in play and hitting it hard. His speed isn’t great but it’s more than serviceable in the field and on the basepaths. His arm strength will relegate him to play left field, but his fielding ability is decently strong. He is very athletic and has a boatload of potential to be a star in Major League Baseball, but he has to consistently hit the ball. There are some mechanical flaws for Greene to work out, but he has plenty of time to sharpen his abilities.

Draft Prediction: Round 1, Pick 6 to the San Diego Padres

It would be very surprising if Greene fell out of the top-seven. Based on mock drafts that I’ve seen and chatter that I’ve heard, the top-five teams have different targets which makes San Diego the next best option. The Padres are set for the future and adding Greene would only make them more of a future powerhouse.

Andrew Vaughn | Will Wilson | Jackson Rutledge | Hunter Bishop | JJ Bleday | Kameron Misner | Logan Davidson| Seth Johnson | Bobby Witt Jr. | Josh Jung|Adley Rutschman |Daniel Espino|Nick Lodolo|Kody Hoese| Matthew Allan|C.J. Abrams|

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Main Image Credit: https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=438778