The last ten years in Detroit hasn’t been the brightest. Only two years with a winning record, and four years at the bottom of the pack. Within all of those loses and heartache, lies an intriguing and exciting rebuild. A wealth of young talent and prospects to watch take over the team, but which one is going to spearhead Detroit’s triumphant return to the top?

With the fifth pick in the 2019 MLB draft, the Detroit Tigers select, Riley Greene. It’s been a promising road for Greene since the 2019 draft, but it has not been without some bumps and bruises. Greene has already suffered from 3 major injuries in his short career.

The first being a broken foot that postponed the start of his MLB career, then a stress fracture in his fibula at the beginning of the 2023 season, and finally the Tommy John surgery that ended his 2023 campaign.

In the time that Greene was available to play last season, he was a bright rising star in the organization. He showed us what was possible in the future with this young talent. In Greene’s 99 games in 2023, he had a slash line of .288/.349/.447 (baseball-reference.com), all of which were above league average. He also hit 11 home runs and had 37 RBIs, but RBIs are not the easiest thing to come by in Detroit.

Riley Greene’s offense was always much watch TV for Detroit fans, but his defense was equally as fun to watch. While making some errors in center field, he had no shortage of electric plays. Always running hard, always putting himself out there to make a play on the ball, perhaps his go hard attitude in the field contributed to his injuries more than we care to admit. I don’t want to see him in the same situation as Bryce Harper, going too hard in the field and constantly injuring himself.

Greene’s injury shortened 2023 season was something we Tigers fans can look forward to him building on in 2024. I believe Greene is primed to have a breakout season not just in terms of his team, but the entire league. I think he showed in spurts last year that he has what it takes to take home an MLB batting title, and even win AL MVP.

Early on in spring training, markets have his MVP odds valued somewhere in the neighborhood of 125 to 1. In my opinion, that value is far too good to pass up on. You will catch me cashing my AL MVP ticket this fall after Riley Greene roars back onto the scene for the Detroit Tigers.

By: Goldie (@xGoldie5 on X)

Photos Courtesy of Mark Cunningham & The MLB

Stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com