Reds top pitching prospect Hunter Greene makes roster, starting rotation

The Cincinnati Reds used the second overall pick in the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft on Greene, selecting the flame-throwing right-hander out of Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, Calif.). At just 17 years old, Greene pitched 4 1/3 innings with the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League (an MLB Partner League) in 2017 before moving to the Reds' High-A affiliate, the Dayton Dragons, in 2018.

He represented the Reds at the 2018 All-Star Futures Game and ended the 2018 campaign with Dayton with a 3-7 record, 4.48 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 89 strikeouts across 68 1/3 innings pitched. Greene has been known to regularly top 100 miles per hour on his fastball, making his pending debut that much more notable.

The Los Angeles native suffered a sprained right UCL toward the end of the 2018 campaign and later suffered a setback during his rehab in March 2019. Greene underwent Tommy John surgery and was lost for the remainder of the year, before being sidelined in 2020 along with all other minor leaguers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greene spent the 2021 season split between the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and the Triple-A Louisville Bats. He finished the year 10-8 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 139 strikeouts across 106 1/3 innings pitched in 21 starts.