Detroit Tigers: Grayson Greiner performs about as expected

With the 2018 season coming to a close, we are providing year-end grades to each Detroit Tigers player who donned the Olde English D in 2018.

The Detroit Tigers completed the first year of what looks to be a multi-year rebuilding process. While the team was hard to watch at times, there is still plenty to evaluate from this season as we look ahead to the next few years.

As with any team, there were a lot of excellent performances, surprise performances, and of course disappointing performances. Here at Motor City Bengals, we are going to be evaluating each player who suited up for the Detroit Tigers this season. We will analyze how they performed, what their future holds in the Motor City, and we will provide them a grade.

Note: the grade will be relative to what was expected of them. So a player who performed well above expectations may earn a B or an A, even if their actual season numbers are not that elite. If you disagree, feel free to drop us a comment. We would love to have discussions about these!

The Detroit Tigers ushered in a new backstop this season, as prospect Grayson Greiner made his big league debut and ended up starting 30 games behind the dish. Here is how he did:

Grayson Greiner

Greiner was a third round pick back in 2014, and has long been one of Detroit’s top 30 ranked prospects. A hulking presence in the batters box and behind the dish, the six-foot-six, 239 pound Greiner showed some promise, and also some flaws, with Detroit.

Greiner slashed .219/.328/.281 with six doubles and 12 RBI. He did not hit any home runs, and only managed four in all of 2018, a big step down from the 14 he mashed at AA in 2017.

Greiner did post an obscenely good 14.7% walk rate, although his 27.6% strikeout rate leaves some to be desired. Greiner has always been a high-walk, high-strikeout guy in the minors, but that profile is less desirable when it doesn’t come with any power.

Catchers, perhaps more than any position, rely on their defense to land them a job. That is not Greiner’s strong point, unfortunately. He allowed 17 stolen bases on 22 attempts in the big leagues, while also giving up three passed balls and seven wild pitches. Greiner looks like a third string catcher at best, unless he can either improve on his defense or his power at the plate. At 25, his clock is ticking.

Grade

Greiner showed a few skills that lend themselves to a career as a big league backup, but he also showed the flaws that have been nagging him as a prospect for a few years now. Ultimately, I’d say he performed about as expected, for better and for worse.

Grade: C

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