Article: Twins MLB Draft Preview: Hunter Greene, SP/SS

[91TwinsFan]

Why has there been no Gore steam?  He's left-handed, could be the best pitcher coming out of high school, racked up some accolades, seems to have positive scouting reviews, and in my opinion looks like a guy they could possibly sign under slot to aim for a higher ceiling guy that may fall.

[jimbo92107]

 

Boy jimbo it looks like a W to me.

Sort of an inverted W, but not quite. I'm hoping Twins coaches will smooth out that over-extension, tho it's not as extreme as what we see in Greene, whose throwing forearm is near vertical, not pointed sideways like Wright's. Plus, Wright's moment of acceleration starts with a pronounced leg drive, but smooth acceleration to more of a forward position of his elbow before the final rotation of the forearm, where it causes less stress on that elbow joint. Great photo!

Edited June 8, 2017 by jimbo92107

[AZTwin]

Why is Greene's strikeouts low? Does his fastball not have movement

[KirbyDome89]

 

I'm not faulting the organization for the Stewart pick. It looked like the right pick at the time, and will always favor the high ceiling over a "safer" option. 

Agreed. I can live with any pick, good or bad, as long as they're taking who they perceive to be the best player. If they honestly think Wright is the better player then I'm on board, but if they're going the college route to take the safer pick and avert "risk," despite thinking Greene is potentially the better prospect then mediocrity might be the best we can hope for...

[Bob Sacamento]

 

Why has there been no Gore steam?  He's left-handed, could be the best pitcher coming out of high school, racked up some accolades, seems to have positive scouting reviews, and in my opinion looks like a guy they could possibly sign under slot to aim for a higher ceiling guy that may fall.

Yes, he should and is definitely in the talk still but he's not going to sign "significantly" underslot than say other elite HS talent such as Hunter Greene or Royce Lewis.  If you want that you need to dig a little deeper say a Jordon Adell, Austin Beck, or Shane Baz or go a different route like a Pavin Smith, JB Bukauskas.  Of the top 3 HS talents, Lewis is reportedly more likely to sign for underslot than the two pitchers.

[chpettit19]

 

Pick Greene     Now is the time to roll the dice. If he really is the second coming of Ruth, we will have 20 years of fabulous baseball.  All the rest  Wright etc. are only marginally better than what they can get at picks 35 and 37. I say go for it and pick Hunter Greene.

 

Remember, Sid said back in the day to pick Laettner over Shaq given the choice.  Don't be Sid

That's the thing, though...no baseball people are saying he's the second coming of Ruth or any big time prospect. That SI cover did nobody any favors. Greene isn't really considered a better prospect than Wright etc.. There's a handful of guys who are basically considered the same level of prospects at the top of the draft. Bryce Harper is what you would consider a "second coming of Ruth" type prospect. Greene is not in that class. Not even close, really. This is not a strong draft. 17 year old throwing 100 gets a lot of attention in a weak class. If he was in the same draft class as Harper there wouldn't have been any debate at all about who was the better prospect. Heck, if you just want a teenager throwing gas why not take hometown boy Carlson? He's throwing 96 and has offspeed offerings.

[twinsfanstreif]

Some just need to convince themselves they know more than others. Just turn on sports talk radio. Green looks plenty smooth to me. Lincecum didn't do bad for years with his freaky delivery. Nobody knows.

I think they actually know what they're talking about and it's not just a "smooth" delivery that matters, it has a lot to do with movement and stress on the body. They actually note Greene's smooth delivery but also note that it doesn't seem like his legs are strong enough so he's compensating with his arm which could lead to lots of stress on the arm, they basically say that it is fixed with gaining some mass in his lower half. Also with Lincecum he has struggled with injuries but his body held up for about 4 stellar years with the Giants before he started to break down, and the stress in his delivery was not on his arm, it was mostly on his hips and back (which is exactly where he got hurt. Yoh say "nobody knows" except that's not entirely true, sports science experts have been studying this for years now and injury prediction due to mechanics and biology are getting pretty good.

[h2oface]

 

I think they actually know what they're talking about and it's not just a "smooth" delivery that matters, it has a lot to do with movement and stress on the body. They actually note Greene's smooth delivery but also note that it doesn't seem like his legs are strong enough so he's compensating with his arm which could lead to lots of stress on the arm, they basically say that it is fixed with gaining some mass in his lower half. Also with Lincecum he has struggled with injuries but his body held up for about 4 stellar years with the Giants before he started to break down, and the stress in his delivery was not on his arm, it was mostly on his hips and back (which is exactly where he got hurt. You say "nobody knows" except that's not entirely true, sports science experts have been studying this for years now and injury prediction due to mechanics and biology are getting pretty good.

 

Interesting, that when the predictions for the NCAA basketball tourney are looked back on, the talking heads that told us what would happen, don't fare well. I agree that the science is not to be denied. If Greene can do what he does now without his legs "strong enough", just imagine what can be with legs becoming strong enough, and used more! I will take 4 great Lincecum years, more than a 4 ish ERA inning eater (Brake Radke?) that last a longer time. All pitchers are going to break down. Their time, like running backs, is limited, and they know that going in, or should. Even with the science, we are guessing, just convincing ourselves it is a better guess with better probabilities. Until they go down anyway. Which they do with ever increasing frequency, regardless of the better knowledge and science. It's fun to talk about, though. And then there are unexplainable occurances, like Sandy Koufax (bright and quick and violent delivery) and ageless Nolan Ryan, and Randy Johnson...... and Clayton Kershaw.

Edited June 8, 2017 by h2oface

[Sweetwater]

Nolan Ryan had tremendous leg and hip strength, according to the mechanics gurus. Wright also has a pretty high injury risk according to them. Greene has more risk *right now*, but if he can get stronger in a relatively shortish amount of time, meaning he has to focus on it immediately, he's very much worth the pick.

[Steve Lein]

 

Why has there been no Gore steam?  He's left-handed, could be the best pitcher coming out of high school, racked up some accolades, seems to have positive scouting reviews, and in my opinion looks like a guy they could possibly sign under slot to aim for a higher ceiling guy that may fall.

 

Wait for it...

[h2oface]

 

Why is Greene's strikeouts low? Does his fastball not have movement

 

?? 43 Ks in 28 innings this year. They shut him down on the mound in April. Parents want to save the arm and development for pro ball. 

 

http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/hunter-greene/uMJm9ZrFEeOzMAAmVebBJg/gendersport/baseball-stats.htm

 

[twinsfanstreif]

I will take 4 great Lincecum years, more than a 4 ish ERA inning eater (Brake Radke?) that last a longer time.

Interestingly Lincecum has a career 21 WAR which is pretty good but Radke's is 45

[70charger]

 

Interestingly Lincecum has a career 21 WAR which is pretty good but Radke's is 45

 

Why is Radke so criminally underrated?

[gunnarthor]

 

Why is Radke so criminally underrated?

He didn't strike guys out.

[h2oface]

All I am saying is........ that I would rather have a bright star that burns quick, and shines bright, than a long term innings eater middle of the road pitcher.

[Einstein1]

https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/873296225642176513

 

[Monkeypaws]

 

https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/873296225642176513

It is a huge risk to not grab a talent like this when the #1 overall lines up.

I like Wright, and he would be a good add to the system.

 

However, Greene looks every part the phenom, most likely a once in a career chance for Falvey and Levine to get their hands on such a player without breaking the bank. 

 

The thing about Greene is that, apart from baseball skills, he seems to have a great make-up and loads of character. 

 

7 million plus change is only a few more than they wagered on Nishi, and far less than they wagered on Park.

 

Be bold leadership. be bold.