Shane Greene: What to Expect

As you all know by now, Shane Greene is making an emergency start (that could become more than that if he pitches well) tonight against the Indians.

If you have watched the Yankees for most of the year, you caught a brief glimpse of Greene earlier in the season.   He actually had a very odd start to his season, being shuffled back and forth between the Yankees and Scranton, but never actually pitching.    He finally ended up getting into a game for the Yankees, lasting one-third of an inning, allowing three runs (all unearned) without allowing a hit with three walks and one strikeout.   I am sure he is relieved that this particular outing will not be his only entry in the Baseball Encyclopedia (or baseballreference.com!)

Greene's best pitches are thrown hard.  He features a 93-95 MPH fastball and a slider that also can get into the 90 MPH range.  He also throws a softer slider that is in the 79-81 range.  Rounding out his arsenal are a sinker and a change up.

One scouting report I read about him suggested that his big issue is how he mixes his pitches - he often will throw his fastball in an obvious hitter's count, and it gets crushed.    He also needs to have one of his off-speed pitches to be working, because he likely cannot rely on power alone long-term as a starter. 

Before the 2013 season, Greene was having a lot of problems with his command and control, leading many to believe his future was that of a reliever.    In 2012, he put up a 5.25 ERA in 112 innings for Tampa, allowing 63 walks (5.06/9) in the process.  However, sometimes things do click with pitchers, and Greene completely turned that around in 2013, compiling a 3.38 ERA between Tampa/Trenton.  He reduced his walk rate all the way down to 1.75/9, while maintaining a strong strikeout rate.

His up-and-down start to 2014 may have impacted his early results, but he has thrown better lately.   Over his last five appearances for Scranton, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on 22 hits over 28 innings with a 23/10 K/BB ratio.  

It should be noted that Greene is yet another middle-of-the-draft pick that has developed well in this organization.  He was drafted in the 15th round out of Daytona Beach Community College in 2009.  

As for what to expect, who knows what to expect from any rookie pitcher making their debut?  Great pitchers get hammered, bad pitchers cruise through six innings, etc.  I would expect to see a lot of power coming from Greene with a bit of a bulldog type of mentality.  To be exact, if he were to develop to the peak of his ability, that is the type of pitcher he likely would be:  A bulldog pitcher you would slot as a #4 or #5 in a rotation.    There are probably still those who feel his ultimate resting spot will be in a major league bullpen, however.