Coming into this season, Riley Greene, while a top prospect, wasn’t the Tigers prospect who was getting the most attention. That honor went to Spencer Torkelson. However, in his 265 plate appearances this season, it is Greene who has proven himself as a full-time top-of-the-order bat. To be fair, Greene and Torkelson are very different players. Torkelson’s game is more based on power, while Greene should be a more complete hitter. Greene has provided some spectacular plays in the outfield including this majestic grab playing center field.

Still, it is Greene’s current 10-game hitting streak that should be getting fantasy baseball players and Tigers fans alike excited at the prospect of what kind of hitter Greene could be, especially when we consider that Greene will not celebrate his 22nd birthday for another month. This brings us to the question of, what should we be doing with Greene moving into next season.

 

Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight: Riley Greene

When we look at Greene moving into next year we would not look past his 29 percent strikeout rate. For him to have value on what we should expect to be no better than an average offense in Detroit, he will need to continue to bat at the top of the order. It will be difficult to keep him in that position if he continues to strikeout nearly 30 percent of the time. There is some hope as he was able to limit his strikeout percentage to just 20 percent this season in AAA, with him having only played in just three professional seasons — one of those seasons being shortened. He doesn’t have the same experience that players of his age might have at the same age. 

That being said, he has been a patient hitter (19 percent called strike rate, and 65 percent first strike rate) so if he can be a little more aggressive, it should also cut down on his strikeouts. There are many exciting parts to his game, the most exciting being how hard he has hit the ball. In his first 300 plate appearances, he is in the 68th-percentile for average exit velocity, and is in the 80th-percentile for hard hit rate which will help him maintain a solid batting average as he moves forward, and if he can make adjustments to his launch angle (currently 3.9 degrees) to bring it up, we could see significant improvements to his slugging percentage as well even if it is only to nine degrees. Not that players cannot hit home runs with a low launch angle, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has hit 27 home runs this year with an average launch angle of just 4 degrees, but last season when his average was at nine, he nearly hit 50.

 

 

 

Riley Greene in 2023

As we move into draft season next season, I would be very cautious with Greene, and I wouldn’t be willing to use a pick in the top 150. While his talent is obvious, we cannot look past his strikeout issues, and the concerns about his launch angle shouldn’t be looked past either. He won’t help fantasy teams if he only hits 10 home runs, which is roughly what he would average out to based on his current production, especially if we are only going to get a couple of stolen bases from him as well. I can see a productive fantasy season in the future, but I wouldn’t be willing to pay up during the draft season to see if it is going to be next year and if you play in a points league where strikeouts are a negative I would avoid him altogether and let someone else take on his strikeout rate. 


 

 


 

Fantasy Alarm is the home of all things Fantasy Sports. Bringing you the best Fantasy Football, Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Basketball content all year long. Be sure to also check out the best fantasy promo codes on offer today!

 

Related MLB Links: