It’s been five years since a teenaged, two-way baseball player named Hunter Greene graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. At the time, Greene was starring for Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, CA, where he repeatedly hit triple digits on the radar gun.
The cover story posed a very simple question: is Greene destined to become baseball’s version of LeBron James?
The Cincinnati Reds wanted to find out for themselves. They selected Greene with the No. 2 overall pick in 2017 and gave him a $7.23 million signing bonus to pass on a scholarship to UCLA and head straight to pro ball. Finally on Sunday, on a team in the midst of a rebuild, Greene took the mound for his Major League debut and showed why MLB Pipeline ranked him the No. 4 right-handed prospect in baseball.
First MLB strikeout: 💯 mph@HunterGreene17 pic.twitter.com/VnnUwdrJTf
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 10, 2022
Only 9 different starting pitchers threw a 100+ MPH swinging strike three all of last season! https://t.co/kt8g4IjC18
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 10, 2022
Hunter Greene, Filthy 87mph Slider. 😷 pic.twitter.com/IKYDauRb2N
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2022
Most 100.0+ mph pitches AS starting pitcher, Reds in pitch-tracking era (since 2008):
Hunter Greene: 20 (through 1 game of career)
Luis Castillo: 10— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 10, 2022
Reds' Hunter Greene, in his MLB debut, has struck out the last two #Braves in each of the first three innings, has retired nine of 10 faced, only Albies reached (walk in second inning, before consecutive Ks by Duvall and Dickerson)
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 10, 2022
Hunter Greene has thrown 35 pitches at 99+ MPH and nobody not named deGrom has done that in a game since June 2016. 😮
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 10, 2022
Getting mentioned alongside Jacob deGrom ever is worthy of celebration. Greene earned the comparison the first time he ever stepped on a big league mound.
And his performance was even more incredible than it sounds.
On the road against the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves, Greene put on an absolute clinic, posting seven strikeouts on two walks in five innings. While he did allow two home runs—that’ll happen pitching against one of the best lineups in baseball—Greene routinely worked his way out of trouble with a fastball-slider combo that confused Atlanta time and time again. He departed with a 6-3 lead and in line for the win.
It's not just heat. 👀 pic.twitter.com/CsDWNVcUQu
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 10, 2022
The arrival.@HunterGreene17 pic.twitter.com/nGwuw3jeLK
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 10, 2022
Despite the fact he’s been on the radar of baseball fans for half a decade now, Greene is still just 22 years old and nowhere near the finished product he should develop into.
Sunday was just the next step along that path. Which is the most freighting part. For as naturally talented as Greene is, he’s still just learning how to pitch against big league hitters.
Sure, he’ll have stumbles and setbacks, but those won’t be able to hide what we saw in his debut.
Hunter Greene is here. With overwhelming hype and an arsenal to match.
After just one outing, he’s already among baseball’s must-watch starters.
