Former Mets GM believes Hunter Greene has potential to emulate World Series MVP with one addition to pitching arsenal - "you're looking at Strasburg"
Hunter Greene is still in the nascent stages of his MLB career but has already started to show the damage that his right arm can do from the mound. The Cincinnati Reds picked Greene in the first round of the 2017 MLB draft.
Greene averaged the most fastballs above 100 mph in the previous season, going from a young lad who always had a propensity for throwing hard to shooting pure bullets in the major leagues.
"If Hunter Greene develops a changeup, I think you're looking at Strasburg" - Jim Duquette via MLBNetworkRadio
Since a young age, Greene hasn't been an ordinary child. His fastball reached 100 mph for the first time at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, where every pitch has been examined, every game broken down, and every move recorded. Making the Sports Illustrated cover in 2017 heightened the excitement in the sport.
"Hunter Greene ’17, NDHS alum notable in Black History is the 1st African American high school baseball player from CA to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He is considered one of the best prospects in baseball, still only at 22 years old" - NotreDame_HS
The former Mets owner believes that Hunter had the ability to develop into Stephen Strasburg for the Cincinnati Reds, who was chosen by the Washington Nationals and is still a member of the team.
Strasburg grew up with the Nationals organization to become one of the elite starters in the game, possessing a wide variety of variations in his pitching arsenal.
His loyalty earned him a World Series title and made him an All-Star multiple times during that stint. He likes to throw hard like Greene, which is why the parallels were drawn between the two.
Hunter Greene has the potential to be one of the greats in the league
Greene made his major league debut and threw 20 pitches over 100 mph against the Atlanta Braves, the defending champs. Six days later, he returned to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers, and in that game, he threw 39 pitches that were in the triple digits, breaking the previous record of 33 by Jacob deGrom.
"Hunter Greene throws GAS" - MLBNetwork
Baseball will either humiliate Hunter Greene or exalt him. He will experience the highs and lows so frequently over the course of a lengthy, Hall of Fame-worthy career that the perspective he is learning now will be essential for surviving it.
Eventually, he will make enough pitches for reality to triumph over his own hype. Instead of having to run after his legacy, he will leave one in his wake.