Through two weeks, August has been the month of Riley Greene, there is no doubt about that. The No. 5 pick in the 2019 Draft is experiencing the biggest power surge of his career and recording multihit games every other contest for Double-A Erie.
In the SeaWolves’ 9-3 win over Altoona, MLB Pipeline’s No. 13 prospect tied a career-high with four hits and launched his 15th homer of the season, his fifth dinger in his past six games. It was the fourth four-hit game of Greene’s career, who is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and has knocked multiple hits in six of the 11 games he’s played in this month.
Greene, manning centerfield and leading off for Erie, opened up the night with a single smoked into center on a 2-1 breaking ball that caught the middle of the plate. The Tigers’ No. 2 prospect showed off his wheels in the following at-bat on No. 19 Detroit prospect Ryan Kreidler’s double, scoring from first on a ball that banged off the wall in foul territory in right field and caused Altoona’s Jack Suwinski to overrun it.
Greene batted again in the third inning, using his speed to reach base safely for the second time after knocking a ball up the middle that deflected off pitcher Trey McGough. The 21-year-old stepped into the box in the fifth inning with a man on second, who eventually reached third on a wild pitch. Greene made sure to bring him home, crushing a 3-1 hanging breaking ball to dead center and putting the SeaWolves up by three.
The 20-year-old rapped another single to center in the seventh, putting a bow on one of the best nights of his young career. Greene would bat again in the ninth but was set down via a strikeout.
Greene has been a consistent force at the top of Erie’s lineup all year, posting an .850 OPS in May, an .862 OPS in June and a .780 OPS in July. The Orlando native has kicked it up a gear in August with a .408/.453/.796 slash line and a 1.249 OPS in 11 games. Greene’s 39 total bases this month are four off the career-high he set in May, and he has plenty of games left to surpass that mark.
Pipeline’s No. 4 outfield prospect has shown off plenty of contact, power and speed throughout the season. In 82 games, Greene has 94 hits, 16 doubles, four triples, 15 homers, 12 stolen bases, 51 RBIs and 57 runs while hitting mainly out of the leadoff spot for Erie.
When Detroit selected him in 2019, Greene carried the projection of being an advanced bat who could rise through the Tigers’ system rapidly. He’s making good on that selection with a .297/.380/.514 slash line in 363 plate appearances and with an MLB ETA of 2022, Tigers fans could see the dominant combo of Greene and top prospect Spencer Torkelson slotted in the lineup at Comerica Park sooner rather than later.