Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene is on the cusp of a return to the big leagues. If his final tune-up start on Sunday with the AAA Louisville Bats is any indication, he’ll be returning in pretty peak form.
Greene and the Bats took on the Saint Paul Saints on Sunday in Slugger Field, and Greene simply breezed right through them. As Charlie Goldsmith relayed, Greene fired 82 pitches acros 6.1 scoreless frames, allowing only one hit. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out 4 on his day.
The lone hit he allowed came off the bat of longtime big leaguer Orlando Arcia. As the official MiLB account added on Twitter, he topped 100 mph with his heater on the day, too.
Greene, who has missed every Reds game so far this season after undergoing a cleanup procedure in his prized right elbow right before the start of the regular season, should theoretically slide right into the team’s starting rotation by the end of the week. How the Reds accommodate that addition, though, will be worth watching.
Would they skip a start for someone like Chase Burns as an effort to extend his availability down the stretch? Might they option Rhett Lowder, or move him to a long relief role in the bullpen?
Would they consider going to a six-man rotation as a way to ease-off on all parties involved?
The good news is that we’ll get an answer to that question in short order, since it seems pretty damn evident that Greene is back – and ready.
