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Tigers All-Star Riley Greene First Player to Reach This Plateau in Eight Years

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Detroit Tigers have received some incredible offensive contributions from players throughout the 2025 MLB regular season, leading to the team having one of the more prolific lineups this year.

At the heart of the team’s success is left fielder Riley Greene. An All-Star for the second consecutive campaign, he is certainly living up to the lofty expectations that come with being selected as high as he was. As the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, the Tigers were expecting great things from him.

So far, he has delivered on that promise. He made his debut on June 18, 2022, and hasn’t looked back. Each year he has spent in the Big Leagues, he has shown improvements in every facet of his game. He is as impactful with his glove defensively as he is offensively with the bat.

His bWAR, strikeout rate and walk rate are unfortunately heading in the wrong direction in 2025. However, that has not stopped him from taking his offensive game to another level. Despite leading the American League with 169 strikeouts, only 10 behind Washington Nationals young star James Wood for most in the MLB, he is putting up career run-producing numbers.

Riley Greene Is One of Best Run Producers in Baseball

There was a mini-slump in the middle of the season that led to manager A.J. Hinch moving him down in the order, but he responded in the fashion expected from a star player. Despite the eye-popping strikeout numbers, Greene is still leading Detroit in several offensive categories. His 72 runs scored, 136 hits, 27 doubles, 32 home runs, 101 RBI, .517 slugging percentage, .884 OPS and 128 OPS+ are the best amongst qualified hitters.

His prolific fun production has also led to him accomplishing something that hasn’t been done by another Tigers player in eight years. Greene is the first to reach the 100-RBI plateau since Nick Castellanos in 2017. As shared by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X, he is the eighth different Detroit player to reach that mark since 2006.

#Tigers players with 100 RBIs since 2006:

- Riley Greene (2025)
- Nick Castellanos (2017)
- Miguel Cabrera (2008-14, 2016)
- J.D. Martinez (2015)
- Victor Martinez (2011, 2014)
- Prince Fielder (2012-13)
- Magglio Ordóñez (2006-08)
- Carlos Guillén (2007)

A.J. Hinch on Greene: pic.twitter.com/LpV2J39ql8
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) August 30, 2025

He joins Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez, Prince Fielder, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen. If Greene can do it again, he will join Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Fielder and Ordonez as multiple time achievers. Cabrera achieved the feat eight times. Martinez and Fielder did it twice apiece and Ordonez did it three times.

Still only 24 years old, Greene is on the trajectory to rewrite a lot of the Tigers' franchise record books should he remain healthy. Just scratching the surface of his potential, he is already one of the best players to suit up for the franchise in the last decade.