Inside the Article:
Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene has been struggling at the plate recently, with only 5 hits in his last 33 at-bats and 13 strikeouts in his previous 8 games. While this is not the first time that Greene has gone through a rough patch, manager A.J. Hinch believes that the key to his success is to focus on pitch selection, and not try to do too much. Hinch has been monitoring Greene's performance closely and is aware that pitchers have been attacking him at the top of the strike zone. Despite his struggles, Hinch has kept Greene at the top of the batting order.
Why it Matters
Greene's slump to start off the season is a cause for concern for the Tigers as they rely heavily on his offensive production.
Key Points
- Greene has been struggling at the plate recently, with only 5 hits in his last 33 at-bats and 13 strikeouts in his previous 8 games.
- Pitchers have been attacking Greene at the top of the strike zone, especially up and in and middle in.
- Hinch believes that pitch selection is key to Greene's success.
- Despite his struggles, Hinch has kept Greene at the top of the batting order.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch weighs in on Riley Greene's struggles
Here is some of what Hinch had to say about Greene's struggles at the plate to start the season.
“He and I have this thing where all I really want to talk about is whether he got a good pitch to hit or not,” manager AJ Hinch said. “When he does, he does a lot of damage. When he doesn’t, he can have some messy at-bats. I know he wants to be more productive and pitch selection is the key to that.”
Hinch added that pitchers will attack the hitters' weakness at the MLB level.
“The league has a funny way of adjusting to you pretty quickly,” Hinch said. “They start pounding you in areas that are uncomfortable for you. The more he recognizes that and experiences that, the faster he will be able to make the adjustment.
“It’s just a youthful approach to learning that this isn’t an easy level. They’re not going to just lay the ball where he likes it. They are pitching him pretty tough.”
Hinch believes in Greene no matter what
Hinch made himself pretty clear that his belief in Greene is very strong, explaining why he has kept him near the top of the batting order.
“Because I don’t think they suck when they do poorly and I don’t think they’re Hall-of-Famers when they do great,” he said. “I am pretty consistent with these guys. Riley is a really good player and he’s a really good player when he’s 0-for-20 and he’s a really good player when he’s 10-for-20.
“I try to be consistent with them so they understand that the things I do with the lineup or their playing time don’t revolve solely on how they did in today’s game.”
Bottom Line – The Tigers need Greene to step up his game, but they believe in him
While it's not unusual at all for a young player like Riley Greene to go through a rough patch, his recent struggles are cause for concern. As one of the team's top players, his offensive production is crucial to their success this season. Despite his struggles, Hinch and the Tigers believe in Greene.
“When you have the people around you creating more stress by being inconsistent with you, that’s not going to produce better results,” Hinch said. “We believe in Riley, no matter what kind of stretch he’s going through.”
