Riley Greene

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Riley Alan Greene

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Riley Greene was drafted 5th overall in the 2019 amateur draft, by the Detroit Tigers, out of a high school in Oviedo, FL. His high selection was not a surprise as he was considered maybe the best pure hitter among high schoolers that year. He was the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, spent time with the United States junior national team and played in various national All-Star games. In 28 games as a senior, he hit .422 with 8 home runs. 38 runs scored and 27 RBIs. He was a high school teammate and close friend of Vaughn Grissom.

His father Alan Greene played college baseball at Florida Tech and was a youth coach, counting his son among his pupils. Riley had a commitment to attend the University of Florida before being drafted but signed quickly with Detroit. He made his professional debit in 2019, playing for three different minor league teams: the GCL Tigers, Connecticut Tigers and West Michigan Whitecaps. In a total of 57 games, he hit .272/.347/.403 with 5 homers and 28 RBIs. he then had to sit out the 2020 season as the Coronavirus pandemic wiped out the minor league season.

Back on the field in 2021, he started the year with the Erie SeaWolves of Double-A Northeast, where he hit .298 in 84 games. He was then promoted to the Toledo Mud Hens of Triple-A East where he played a further 40 games and hit .308, placing him on the cusp of the major leaguers. Altogether, his stats for his first full season in the pros were a slash line of .301/.387/.534 in 124 games, 95 runs, 84 RBIs, 25 doubles, 8 triples and 24 homers. He also was successful on 16 of 17 stolen base attempts.

Following his excellent minor league season, it was widely anticipated that he would start the 2022 season in the Tigers' line-up, alongside fellow top prospect Spencer Torkelson. He was on the way to do so when on April 2nd he experienced a setback: a fracture in his right foot, putting him on the shelf for several weeks. He played his first game on May 27th for the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Florida State League, then after two games was promoted to the Toledo Mud Hens of the AAA International League. He was hitting .274 in 15 games there when he got the call to Detroit on June 18th. He made his debut that same day, playing centerfield and batting 6th against the Texas Rangers. He had a great game, going 2 for 3 with 2 walks and scoring twice in a 14-7 win. His first career hit was a single off Taylor Hearn in a three-run 1st inning; the last player to reach base four times in his debut had been Cedric Mullins with the 2018 Baltimore Orioles, and the last Tigers player to do so Scott Livingstone in 1991. In his debut season, he hit .253 in 93 games, with 5 homers and 42 RBIs for an OPS+ of 97.

In 2023, he took a step forward, playing 99 games and batting .288 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs. His OPS+ was 119 and he was the team's main centerfielder. In 2024, he made the All-Star team for the first time. He played 137 games with 24 homers and 74 RBIs, and also scored 82 runs. This time left field was his principal position. The Tigers famously beat the odds that season after having been virtually eliminated at the trading deadline, as they finished very strong and qualified for the postseason. he was 1 for 9 in Detroit's two-game sweep of the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series, then 5 for 17 against the Cleveland Guardians in the Division Series.

On May 2, 2025, he became the first player in major league history to homer twice in the 9th inning, doing so in a 9-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. He led off the top of the inning with a homer off closer Kenley Jansen, breaking a 1-1 tie, then came around to bat again with two outs and two on, after his teammates had added two more long balls, and this time he took Jake Eder deep to make it 9-1. He was only the third player in franchise history to homer twice in an inning, after Magglio Ordonez (in 2007) and Al Kaline (in 1955). With the Tigers having a great first half, he was voted a starting outfielder at the 2025 All-Star Game.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 3-time AL All-Star (2024-2026)
  • AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2025)
  • 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (2024 & 2025)
  • 30-Home Run seasons: 1 (2025)
  • 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (2025)

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jason Beck: "Eyes on 2022 Tigers, Greene returns to high school to take hacks", mlb.com, February 26, 2022. [1]
  • Jason Beck: "Tigers to call up top prospect Riley Greene", mlb.com, June 17, 2022. [2]
  • Jason Beck: "Greene debuts, reaches base 4 times in Tigers' romp", mlb.com, June 18, 2022. [3]
  • Jason Beck: "Time to believe: Greene's rise no superstition", mlb.com, June 19, 2022. [4]
  • Jason Beck: "Greene makes history with two HRs in ninth inning: Tigers slugger first to hit two in the ninth, and team totals four in the frame", mlb.com, May 3, 2025. [5]
  • Anthony Fenech: "Detroit Tigers draft Riley Greene at 5th overall in 2019 MLB draft", mlb.com, June 3, 2019. [6]
  • Stephen Ruiz: "Hagerty’s Riley Greene should go early in baseball draft. He’ll take years of playing with close friends in Oviedo with him", Orlando Sentinel, June 2, 2019. [7]

Related Sites[edit]

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