Detroit Tigers to call up top prospect Riley Greene

Riley Greene has finally made it to the show

The Detroit Tigers have announced that they are calling up top prospect Riley Greene, and he’ll make his major league debut on Saturday. In a corresponding move, Austin Meadows will be placed on the injured list after testing positive for COVID-19.

Greene is currently the No. 2 ranked prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. The Tigers have said that he would have made the Opening Day roster if not for a fractured foot he suffered toward the end of spring training after fouling a ball off his foot.

He was finally activated off the IL at the end of May and has been playing in Triple-A Toledo, where in 15 games he has slashed .274/.338/.387 with an OPS of .725. He has hit one home run.

Riley Greene was selected fifth overall back in the 2019 draft. In his entire minor league career, he has slashed .291/.372/.483 with 30 home runs and an .855 OPS.

Greene will almost surely be the Detroit Tigers’ starting centerfielder for the rest of the season, and hopefully for years to come. The outfield has been particularly lacking in offensive production this season, so hopefully Greene’s addition can help aid this anemic lineup.

As for Meadows, he just can’t catch a break. First he missed a few weeks with vertigo symptoms after contracting the flu, and now he has COVID. He, of course, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on April 4 in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes.

Meadows was supposed to add a much-needed powerful left-handed bat in Riley Greene’s absence, but he was yet to homer this season. However, he’s still been one of the team’s most consistent hitters, slashing .250/.347/.328 with an OPS+ of 100.

When Meadows is on the mend, hopefully having both he and Greene in the lineup every day can help add a spark to this offense.