In MLB, young pitchers often struggle with home runs allowed.
It’s only natural: it’s the best league in the world, and hitters are extremely competitive.
You need to have not only your best stuff, but also learn how to locate it to avoid meatballs in the middle part of the zone.
MLB batters will punish a middle-middle pitch.
This has been the case with Cincinnati Reds rookie Hunter Greene.
It’s clear he has the stuff to succeed at the MLB level; otherwise he wouldn’t have struck out 88 hitters in just 70 innings so far.
But his control and command can be spotty, and that’s where he allows much of the hard contact that has led to damage this campaign.
Greene Leads MLB In Home Runs Allowed
Mark Sheldon, the Reds’ beat reporter for MLB.com, wrote that “MLB’s leader in homers allowed is now Hunter Greene with 19. Bellinger’s 2-run HR has the Reds down 5-0 in the 4th.”
A few minutes later, he added: “Now it’s 20. Muncy clobbered a first pitch fastball to another universe in RF.”
Now it’s 20. Muncy clobbered a first pitch fastball to another universe in RF.
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) June 23, 2022
Very few pitchers in the world can throw harder than Greene, who can touch 103 mph with his four-seamer.
But it won’t matter as long as he can’t locate his stuff.
Command is very important for a young pitching prospect: as they go through the minor league ladder, hitters punish mistakes more and more often.
In MLB, they rarely miss.
After the two homers and allowing six runs in total against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Greene’s ERA is up to 5.66.
The Reds will give him all the development time he can handle, but it’s clear he needs to improve to keep his rotation spot for the future.
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