Emerging young Tigers star named to Bleacher Report's 'all-breakout team'

Miguel Cabrera will forever be engrained in the minds of Tigers' fans as the face of the franchise in the first part of the 21st century. Miggy has since ridden off into the sunset. This season, the Detroit Tigers had an opening for a new face of the franchise to emerge. It was just a question of who would step up to the plate, both literally and figuratively, to fill Miggy's cleats.

Many thought it might be Spencer Torkelson, given the special "passing of the torch" moment the two stars had at the end of last season. That has not been the case. Bleacher Report has come out with a great "all-breakout team" and Tigers' outfielder Riley Greene earned a spot in the outfield with his hot start to the season.

Greene was the fifth pick in the 2019 MLB draft and at was a top-five MLB prospect in 2022. Eventually, fans knew he would be in the middle of their order. In his second year, Greene showed signs of improvement, hitting for a .288/.349/.447 line with a 117 OPS+. This was over only 99 games, and fans were concerned about his health as he found himself on the injured list multiple times in his first two years. One concern was his power, having just 34 extra-base hits and 11 home runs in 2023.

Riley Greene has solidified himself as the face of the franchise for the Detroit Tigers

This year, Riley Greene has shown great signs of improvement. He has nearly doubled his walk rate from 8.4 to 15.5 percent contributing to an OBP of .367. Greene is only 23 years old as well. He still has 15 or more years of production. Greene has already surpassed his WAR from last year and is at the top of the league for exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and expected slugging.

He is above the 80th percentile in all of these categories. Greene hits the ball hard, and the results are piling up this season. Greene leads the team with nine home runs and is near the top with 18 RBI.

There have been candidates such as Spencer Torkelson and Colt Keith who had the opportunity to become the face of the Tigers but have struggled thus far. Tarik Skubal could become their poster child but he only plays every five days. Furthermore, Greene's number 31 jerseys have become a staple throughout Comerica Park over the past year and Greene has found a way to stay healthy.

Now, he is the face of the Detroit Tigers.