DETROIT – Detroit Tigers outfield prospect Riley Green has suddenly skyrocketed into Baseball America’s top 10 overall prospects.
READ: There’s new hope for the Tigers -- these 8 players are showing why
Recommended Videos
On Monday (June 7), the prospect publication released an updated top 100 list. While the top five remained the same -- including top Tigers prospect Spencer Torkelson at No. 5 -- the rest of the list was completely scrambled.
After all the movement due to early performances, injuries and players graduating from prospect status, Greene landed at No. 10 overall. He moved up 13 spots from No. 23 in the preseason rankings.
Here’s a look at the full top 10:
- Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays
- Adley Rutschmann, C, Baltimore Orioles
- Julio Rodriguez, OF, Seattle Mariners
- Jarred Kelenic, OF, Seattle Mariners
- Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Detroit Tigers
- C.J. Abrams, SS, San Diego Padres
- Marco Luciano, SS, San Francisco Giants
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Kansas City Royals
- Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 10. Riley Greene, OF, Detroit Tigers
Only the Tigers and Mariners have multiple players inside the top 10, and Kelenic will soon graduate from prospect status. Only Kelenic and Hayes are currently at the MLB level, from this list.
At No. 23, Greene began the season as the fifth-ranked prospect in the Tigers organization. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal have both graduated from prospect status, while Matt Manning dropped from No. 22 to No. 34 on the updated list.
Greene is getting his first taste of Double-A ball this season, hitting .274 with six home runs, three doubles and a triple in 26 games with the Erie SeaWolves.
While Greene’s 31 hits and 16 walks have given him a .376 on-base percentage, the lone blemish in his stat line is 33 strikeouts in 133 plate appearances.
On defense, he’s been turning in highlights from center field. That’s nothing new for anyone who watched him in pre-2020 intra-squad games.
Are we sure Riley Greene isn’t Superman? TWO spectacular diving grabs tonight from Detroit’s top prospect. pic.twitter.com/7VicWRjOjX
— Tigers Minor League Report (@tigersMLreport) May 30, 2021
At 20 years old -- he’ll turn 21 at the end of September -- Greene is one of the youngest players in Double-A, which makes his early success even more encouraging. When the Tigers drafted him at No. 5 overall in 2019, they thought they were getting a complete hitter. He’s done nothing to damped those expectations.