Detroit Tigers Star Slugger Only Scratching Surface of His Immense Potential
In this story:
The Detroit Tigers shocked everyone in the baseball world with the unprecedented run they went on in the second half of the 2024 season to earn a playoff spot.
Elite pitching is what carried them down the stretch.
Manager A.J. Hinch did a wonderful job with what was at his disposal since his staff was depleted because of injuries and trades ahead of the deadline.
Despite being shorthanded, he pressed all of the right buttons, eating up innings when American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal wasn’t dicing up opponents on the mound.
Along with the stellar pitching performances, the team received timely hitting whenever they needed it most.
Offense was a struggle throughout the year with the Tigers ranking in the bottom half of the league in most statistics, and in the postseason, they managed only 21 runs scored across seven games.
That is something they hope changes in 2025 with the continued development of their younger players and the addition of second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Someone who will be counted on to help carry the offense is left fielder Riley Greene.
The No. 5 pick in the 2019 MLB draft out of Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida was finally healthy enough to showcase his immense talent.
He earned his first All-Star nomination, finishing the season with a slash line of .262/.348/.479. Greene recorded career-highs in runs (82), hits (134), doubles (27), triples (six), home runs (24) and RBI (74).
That culminated in an impressive 133 OPS+.
All of his batting ratios are on the right side of the league average along with his average exit velocity (90.9 mph for his career) and hard-hit percentage (46.7% for his career).
The cherry on top for Greene is that he's a stellar defender in left field.
A solid all-around player, it should come as no surprise that Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated holds him in such high regard.
In a recent piece, he ranked the top 25 players under the age of 25 in the MLB, and he put the Detroit star into the top 10 at the No. 9 spot.
“Even with that strong performance, his offensive profile—a double-digit walk rate, a 90th percentile barrel rate and an 85th percentile bat speed—gives the feeling that there’s more in the tank,” Selbe wrote.
Health was the only thing holding Greene back at points in his career.
If he can stay on the field, he is going to put up huge numbers for the Tigers for years to come.
Exciting things are on the horizon for him and his team.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.