Article: Greene Impresses Twins Brass

[Jeremy Nygaard]

 

Is it really a slider? I've heard in other places it is a curveball. What gives?  Does he have both?

 

see, e.g., http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/3/1/14766552/2017-mlb-draft-profile-hunter-greene-rhp-sherman-oaks-california

 

He throws both right now... but they kind of run into each other and get slurvy. His fastball is fast, but doesn't have a lot of movement right now either. He's a raw 17 year old that has a very, very high ceiling.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Definitely not a huge fan of Greene with the 1-1 pick.   Even KLaw who likes the guy, has this to say about his stuff (from his piece yesterday here).  Emphasis mine.

 

Greene's fastball doesn't have much life, but it's very easy. He threw two changeups, both 89 mph, one in the dirt and one pretty good, especially because he maintained his arm speed.

The biggest question mark within Greene's present arsenal is his breaking ball. He's throwing both a curveball and slider now and they run into each other. On Friday night you could see how he was raising his arm to get some forced angle on the curveball, but I think he's going to end up a slider guy

 

So. What do we have here:  A guy who can throw hard but his FB does not have much life (Tonkin anyone?), whose change up is a work in progress with only 6-10 mph differential from his FB, and the biggest questionmark is his breaking ball because he does not know what to do with it.

 

And gets small catholic High School kids,none of whom are even on the radar for being half way decent, out with 100 mph because they cannot catch up to his fastball, and is a good Shortstop who hits against small catholic High School pitchers, none of whom are even on the radar for being half way decent,  and he is a "great story".

 

A great story might be, but a good 1st overall pick, he ain't.  Would you pick a guy with Tonkin potential (maybe if he gets a second pitch) 1-1?  I wouldn't.  Sorry.  No matter how good a story he is and no matter how much the ones who get paid by the word they write, write about him...

 

You left off the part where KLAW would take him 1:1....

[Otto von Ballpark]

Has this been posted yet?

 

"Minnesota Twins considering Louisville lefty Brendan McKay along with Hunter Greene"

 

http://www.twincities.com/2017/04/09/minnesota-twins-considering-louisville-lefty-brendan-mckay-along-with-hunter-greene/

 

Here's some stats for McKay:

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=brendan-mckay

 

http://www.gocards.com/cumestats.aspx?path=baseball

[Thrylos]

 

You left off the part where KLAW would take him 1:1....

 

Sure.  He said that, but he has no skin in the game.  He is not the Twins and does not care about who the Twins will take, or how the Twins will do. 

 

He is one of those guys who get paid by the word, and by saying that, it makes it a better story.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Thrylos

[Jeremy Nygaard]

 

Bonus demands are going to complicate this a bit, too.  If Preller is going to be the dick that we all know he can be, the Twins won't get any savings out of the first pick and might have to go overslot for Greene.  If a college player comes at a discount, they might take that.

 

I don't know how much the Padres can really impact the Twins selection. Sure, they could get creative and have ~$8 million available to force the Twins and Reds hands... but that's a slippery slope for an agency to take, especially when that agency has had a good working relationship with the Twins. 

 

End of the day, the Twins have money. Greene wants it.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Sure.  He said that, but he has no skin in the game.  He is not the Twins and does not care about who the Twins will take, or how the Twins will do. 

 

He is one of those guys who get paid by the word, and by saying that, it makes it a better story.

 

You are stating he is not stating his honest opinion, but is trying to sell stories? Wow. That's. Wow. Pathetic claim to make with no evidence at all, frankly.

[Thrylos]

 

You are stating he is not stating his honest opinion, but is trying to sell stories? Wow. That's. Wow. Pathetic claim to make with no evidence at all, frankly.

 

Did you see what he wrote about his stuff?  (straight fastball, no change up, mixed up with breaking stuff)  The only pathetic thing here is him saying that despite that he will take him 1-1.  The data he presented does not justify his conclusion.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Thrylos

[gunnarthor]

 

Alright so to be clear, I have speculated that he's facing below average competition based on his high school attendance. I don't know that to be true. But for certain he is facing regular old high school kids, currently, not college bound all stars. He won't face them until August nope he'll be drafted.

By the way do you know if cumulative individual stats exist for the Area Code Games? I haven't been able to find any.

I haven't seen any stats for the area code games but Greene was the MVP, so he did ok.  But scouts have seen him at other summer events, not just that one.  And, again, I'm not sure it's fair to say he's facing regular old high school kids.  He was playing at the Compton urban academy for a while (ala Aaron Hicks) and I would assume that he's playing in an advanced HS pitching league.  I mean, I played regular high school football but I sure wasn't playing against Cretin Derham Hall.  I assume most top HS players - in most sports - play at that level of competition.  Just googled his last game and the opposing pitcher - 16 years old - is already committed to Cal-Northridge, a baseball powerhouse.

[nytwinsfan]

 

He throws both right now... but they kind of run into each other and get slurvy. His fastball is fast, but doesn't have a lot of movement right now either. He's a raw 17 year old that has a very, very high ceiling.

Yes, after I posted that I read elsewhere (Keith Law I think) that he throws both and sometimes they run into each other. Thank you for responding though Jeremy. Going to be a tough call between Greene and McKay (assuming nothing changes, which it almost certainly will).  Does McKay have a decent chance to be a number 2 starter? I've heard he is unlikely to be an Ace.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Did you see what he wrote about his stuff?  (straight fastball, no change up, mixed up with breaking stuff)  The only pathetic thing here is him saying that despite that he will take him 1-1.  The data he presented does not justify his conclusion.

 

I read all his stuff.

 

A. You accused him of trying to sell stories, by not being honest. I don't believe that.

B; I think reading 1-2 paragraphs doesn't give you the full glimpse into his thought process. I also think concluding that he doesn't like his stuff ignores his talk about velocity, age, raw ability, and athleticism completely. You chose the parts of his writing that backed your conclusion. You also are drawing a conclusion based on those sentences, as if those are all the thoughts he has on the 17 yo that throws upper 90s.

 

Edited by glunn

[glunn]

Moderator note -- please tone down the personal squabbling.

[theJemmer]

18? The "kid" looks to be closer to 30. You sure he didn't sneak over here from Cuba? You know, the country that can't keep track of birthdates?

18? The "kid" looks to be closer to 30. You sure he didn't sneak over here from Cuba? You know, the country that can't keep track of birthdates?

You can fake your age, but you can't fake 100 mph