Hunter Greene Tommy John Surgery: What You Need To Know

Hunter Greene, a top Cincinnati Reds prospect, will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The Reds confirmed the news on Twitter.

Greene is a 19-year-old pitcher with an elite fastball. Surgery will be a big setback for him. Here’s what you need to know about Greene and his future.

He’s one of baseball’s most exciting prospects

Greene is 6’4″ and 215 pounds, and possesses legit triple-digit heat. His fastball sits in the 97 to 102 mph range. He’s got a solid slider and a developing changeup. While he struggled out of the gate during his first full professional season, he began to get in a groove later in the year. He also showed well at the Futures Game.

He entered the 2019 season as the 36th-ranked prospect on MLB.com’s top 100 list.

Greene is a great kid, with a magnetic personality and that’s why evaluators are so excited about him.

He’s in good spirits on Twitter

Obviously the news of this injury is devastating, but Greene appears to be in good spirits.

He signed for a huge bonus in 2017

A prep pitcher and shortstop out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, Greene was considered the top prospect in the 2017 MLB Draft. He was taken by the Reds with the second pick in the draft and wound up signing for a record bonus of $7.23 million.

His numbers weren’t great in 2018

In 18 starts during the 2018 season Greene went 3-7 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. In 68.1 innings he struck out 89 hitters while walking 23.

That said, his stuff played up later in the summer and many were excited to see what he could do this year.

He was a SI cover boy in high school

Greene was on the cover of Sports Illustrated during his senior year of high school. The article lauded his ability as a two-way player and discussed how he was the star baseball needed.