LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Cincinnati Reds top prospect and flamethrowing right-hander Hunter Greene is scheduled to make his Triple-A home debut for the Louisville Bats TONIGHT (Wednesday, June 23) at Louisville Slugger Field.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. as Greene gets the ball against the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Indianapolis Indians.
Greene was originally selected by the Reds with the second overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. The highly-touted hurler was ranked as the best overall prospect available in the draft that year and has since been featured among Baseball America’s Top 100 lists during the 2018 (#29 prospect), 2019 (#57) and 2020 (#76) Minor League seasons.
The 21-year-old also received an invite to pitch in the 2018 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park in Washington. Pitching before a crowd of more than 38,000 fans, Greene dazzled scouts with a fastball that routinely hit triple digits and topped out faster than 103 MPH.
Greene reached the Double-A level for the beginning of the 2021 campaign and mowed down batters to post a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.98 ERA and 60 strikeouts over seven starts with the Chattanooga Lookouts. He was promoted to the Bats on June 15 and fanned eight over 4.0 frames during his Triple-A debut last Thursday against the league’s top-hitting team in the Omaha Storm Chasers.
Greene was clocked at 104.3 MPH on one of his fastballs during his Bats debut. That elite pitch speed has been reached by just five pitchers in Major League Baseball since the league began tracking pitch data in 2008, and only Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks have thrown a pitch faster than Greene’s 104.3 MPH.
The Reds top prospect will take the mound tonight at Louisville Slugger Field for his 30th career Minor League start. He joins Nick Senzel as the highest draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds to play for the Louisville Bats.
