Detroit Tigers: Tigers select hard-hitting HS prospect Riley Greene fifth overall

The Detroit Tigers selected OF Riley Greene from Hagerty HS in Oviedo, FL with the fifth overall pick in Monday’s MLB Draft.

Heading into this year’s draft, Riley Greene was touted by some scouts as probably the best high school hitting prospect in this draft class. Now, the 18-year-old is the newest member of the Detroit Tigers organization.

Greene is committed to play with the Gators at the University of Florida but could join the Tigers organization right away. He was the player most commonly projected to be available for Detroit to pick up at fifth overall, and now what has been expected for months has finally become reality.

With the wealth of pitching talent that the Detroit Tigers are currently developing in the minor leagues, building offense was likely to be the top priority for GM Al Avila coming into this draft. The Tigers got a very talented bat to add to the prospect system with Greene. Check out some of his highlights here courtesy of MLB.com.

Most of the negative talk surrounding Greene comes with his fielding, but that is something that can be smoothed out over time in the minors. Greene is largely known for his hitting prowess and his high ceiling potential at the plate coming to the next level. If you need to be convinced, just check out this absolute rocket that the lefty launched into the right-field bleachers at Wrigley Field during the Under Armour All-America game last July.

Greene is a solid, safe choice for the Tigers to end up with and is an extremely talented hitter with a high ceiling to add to the farm system. It will be exciting to watch Greene rise through the ranks of the organization over the next few years, and hopefully, Al Avila has finally nabbed his future everyday lineup guy with Riley Greene.