TOLEDO, Ohio — Detroit Tigers top prospect Riley Greene is still waiting to feel like himself again.
One piece of the puzzle clicked June 2, his third for game for Triple-A Toledo, when he launched a three-run home run off the scoreboard in right field. He also had a single and a walk in that game.
With every plate appearance, the 21-year-old becomes more comfortable in the batter’s box.
“It’s just getting more at ease,” Greene said Tuesday night. “The more you’re up at the plate, the more you’re seeing pitches, the more you’re seeing different guys, the better your approach is going to get. I feel like getting more ABs is going to help me do that.”
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Greene, the Tigers’ center fielder of the future, played his seventh game for the Mud Hens on Tuesday at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.
He missed the beginning of the season with a fracture on the bottom-inside part of his right foot and didn’t return to competition until May 27 with Low-A Lakeland, thus beginning his rehab assignment.
It’s unclear when Greene will make his MLB debut, but the Tigers return to Comerica Park on Friday for a 10-game homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays (Friday-Sunday), Chicago White Sox (Monday-Wednesday) and Texas Rangers (June 16-19).
Greene is the No. 2 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
“I’m feeling good, but I’m not feeling like I want to feel,” Greene said. “That’s going to come with just playing more games and getting more at-bats. But I’m feeling good up at the box, I’m confident, and I’m ready to go. … It’s just kind of like an approach thing. It’s literally all mental with me. Trying to get that mental approach back is really big for me.”
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In Tuesday’s game against the Iowa Cubs, Greene started in center and hit fourth, behind Robbie Grossman (rehab assignment), Akil Baddoo and Victor Reyes (rehab assignment).
Those were supposed to be the four outfielders on the Tigers’ Opening Day roster. Three of them made the team, while Greene stayed in Lakeland, Florida, home of the Tigers’ spring training facility, to mend his broken foot.
“Where’s the parking lot?” Grossman said, as he walked out of the Mud Hens’ clubhouse after the first game of his rehab assignment. He crushed a mammoth home run in his first plate appearance.
Greene went 2-for-5 with an RBI single in the sixth inning. He is hitting .267 (8-for-30) with one home run, four RBIs, four walks and seven strikeouts in seven games for the Mud Hens.
“I feel like baseball shape is a lot different than being in regular shape,” Greene said. “You’re running around, you’re on your feet 24/7. Last week, my legs were sore because I haven’t really done anything for two months. Being back in games, it’s a different toll on your body. Trying to get my legs back under me, it was big, and I’m feeling pretty good now.”
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The Mud Hens scored six runs in Tuesday’s first inning. Greene reached safely on a one-out single to center field, then advanced to second base on Brendon Davis’ six-pitch walk.
When Josh Lester smacked a fly ball to left field, Greene bounced between second and third base. His eyes tracked the ball, and his ears tuned in to third base coach Tony Cappuccilli. Once the ball hit the wall, Greene accelerated, raced around third base and scored easily.
Greene also put his athleticism on display in the sixth inning, chasing down a fly ball in the gap in left-center. His running catch, which took him to the wall, stole extra bases from ex-Tiger John Hicks and concluded Tyler Alexander’s two scoreless innings in the third outing of his rehab assignment.
These plays show Greene’s right foot is healthy.
“I feel great. One hundred percent is kind of where I’m at,” Greene said. “I’m not feeling anything with my foot anymore, which is a good thing. I’m just excited to be back out there playing. I didn’t play for two months, and I was really wanting to get back on the field.”
More than two months ago, on April 1, Greene fouled a pitch off his right foot in spring training. He stayed in the batter’s box and ripped a triple off New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. After the inning, he left the game with a trainer.
X-rays revealed a fracture.
In 11 spring traininggames, Greene hit .429 (9-for-21) with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, four RBIs, three walks and six strikeouts, with a .500 on-base percentage and 1.048 slugging percentage.
“I came to spring training and thought I played pretty good,” Greene said. “I was feeling good up at the plate. And then, something like that happens. As a hitter, when you’re feeling good at the plate, you want to keep playing in games and hitting.
“When you can’t get that feeling back, it’s hard. You’re trying to fight for that feeling back, and sometimes you can’t get it back. But I’m working my way up, trying to figure it out. The feeling is starting to come back now.”
Although Greene avoided surgery, he was forced to step away from baseball activities to allow his foot to heal. He played a lot of video games and even bought a gaming laptop. He visited Chick-fil-A, Chipotle and Starbucks in Lakeland for his meals. Since Greene is from the Orlando area, his parents made the hour-long drive once per week to keep him company.
Greene, the 2019 No. 5 overall pick, said he didn’t know if he was going to receive a spot on the Opening Day roster, but one day after his injury, the Tigers announced fellow top prospect Spencer Torkelson, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, made the team as the starting first baseman.
“I really tried not to think about it,” Greene said. “I tried to take something negative and turn it into a positive. That was my big thing. Things happen for a reason. I’m a big believer in that. I just was trying to think positive all the time.”
Torkelson has played 50 games in his MLB career and is still adjusting to the big leagues. The 22-year-old is hitting .194 with four home runs, 21 walks and 49 strikeouts.
As Greene took another step toward his MLB debut in Tuesday’s game for Toledo, Torkelson hammered an RBI double off the center-field wall in the fourth inning Tuesday at PNC Park. It was a key moment in the Tigers’ 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“It’s awesome,” Greene said. “When I was in Lakeland, I would watch every single game, and it’s awesome seeing him up there and doing well. … We don’t really talk about baseball. I just ask him how he’s feeling, how he’s doing. That’s really it.”
Soon, Greene will join Torkelson and the Tigers.
But he isn’t looking too far ahead.
“I’m here and I’m excited to be playing again,” Greene said. “I’m very grateful to be back on the field.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.