Cincinnati Reds flamethrower Hunter Greene leads the National League in three categories: walks, hits and vomiting.
Neither is desirable, especially one that involves picking up something other than a baseball, but the former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High star is a serious Cy Young Award contender in his third major league season.
Greene's .185 batting average against him is the lowest in the National League, and he leads the league's pitchers with 5.3 wins above replacement. His 2.83 earned run average is third among starters, behind Atlanta's Chris Sale (2.61) and Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler (2.78).
And, yes, he leads baseball in throwing 100 mph pitches and also pitching from the mound.
Greene set records for most triple-digit fastballs in a season and in a game in 2022. He also vomited in his glove during the fifth inning of his start Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, the third time this season he has lost his appetite between pitches.
David Bell, in his sixth season as Reds manager after 12 major league seasons, went out of his way to offer perspective, sounding as if he envied Greene.
“I think he feels better after that happens,” Bell said. “I think a lot of us feel like throwing up during the game sometimes and we don't manage it, so maybe he just feels better after that.”
Hunter Greene is a serious Cy Young Award candidate this season. His 2.83 ERA is third among starters, behind Atlanta's Chris Sale (2.61) and Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler (2.78).
(Jeff Dean/Associated Press)
It's possible, but other players have not followed suit, thankfully. Greene's first vomiting occurred on June 19 in Pittsburgh, and he attributed it to drinking too much water before the game, during which he pitched six scoreless innings.
Six days later, at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati and again facing the Pirates, Greene walked Andrew McCutchen to start the first inning, then, after throwing Strike 1 to Bryan Reynolds, Greene doubled over and vomited on the mound.
Reynolds homered and Greene was replaced, allowing six runs in four innings. Excess water was not the problem.
“I can’t say that because I did the opposite this time,” Greene said. “I tried not to have the same outcome as last time. I’m not going to sit here and make a big deal about it because it’s not a big deal. But I’m going to take some pills and stuff like that to help with my stomach and hope it goes away.”
It happened once again, but in eight starts since the second inning, the right-hander has posted a 1.06 ERA. He has pitched six or seven innings in each of his last seven starts.
“He’s a beast,” Reds first baseman Jeimer Candelario said. “Every five days you take the ball to the mound, you expect to have a win with him. He’s dominating.”
Still, Greene, who turned 25 on Aug. 6, is becoming the ace of the team that almost everyone in baseball predicted he would be. He was only the 13th high school athlete to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and was described thusly: “Baseball’s LeBron or the new Babe? He’s 17. He’s powerful. He throws 102 miles per hour. Hunter Greene is the star baseball needs (he needs to finish high school first).”
Hyperbole? Sure, but he hit 93 mph at age 14 and 100 mph as a junior at Notre Dame. And he was also a shortstop with prodigious power.
“There were fans trying to get him to sign Sports Illustrated for them while we were trying to get on the bus,” Notre Dame coach Tom Dill said. “There were lines of people. I had to stop him. I even saw some coaches from the other team in the line.”
Hunter Greene was a pitching phenom for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High in 2017 and was the Reds' second overall pick in the MLB draft that summer.
(Larry Goren/Associated Press)
Not surprisingly, Greene was selected by the Reds in 2017 with the second overall pick and signed for a $7.23 million bonus. He quickly endeared himself to the fans with his maturity and social conscience.
Despite growing up in the suburb of Stevenson Ranch, Greene spent quality time at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. When he reached Triple-A, he gave away 3,000 pairs of new cleats to local youth and high school players in Los Angeles.
“I do this because I have the platform to be able to give back,” Greene said at the time. “It’s important to spread the love, to be able to give kids the best resources, the best equipment… If I can help with that and make kids feel special, that’s the ultimate goal. And I’m happy and proud to do that.”
Despite Tommy John surgery in 2019 and a development hampered by COVID restrictions, Greene has ascended to the Reds’ rotation in 2022. The early results were mixed, throwing 339 pitches at 100 mph or faster (the previous record was 200) and striking out 164 in 125.2 innings but allowing 24 homers and posting a 5-13 record and a 4.44 ERA.
Reds brass remained steadfast in their support, and Greene signed a six-year, $53 million contract the following April that could grow to more than $90 million with incentives and a club option in 2029. His progress stalled in 2023, however, as Greene posted a 4.82 ERA in 112 innings.
What's different this season? His strikeout and walk rates remain high, but he's inducing more ground balls and allowing significantly fewer home runs, crucial in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark. He's also getting more hitters to chase pitches outside the strike zone.
The NL Cy Young race is tight, with the Padres' Dylan Cease and the Cubs' Shota Imanaga in contention, along with Sale, Wheeler and Greene. Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes and reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell likely won't have enough innings to justify enough votes.
Sale, who has never won a Cy Young in his 14-year career, is considered the favorite right now. Greene, however, is 10 years younger and improving. He should remain in the Cy Young conversation for years to come.
