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Paul Skenes may get all the headlines, but former MLB executive Dan O'Dowd believes Hunter Greene needs to be in the same conversation as Skenes. Greene has been on a tear since last year, and O'Dowd thinks those two are no longer separated by much.
The Cincinnati Reds ace got a ton of praise on Monday's edition of MLB Network. He's off to a hot start with a sparkling 0.98 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 27.2 innings so far. It got one MLB analyst thinking.
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The MLB Network host said:
"Hunter Greene is the guy I am most excited about. ... He always had this arm, this stuff, but he didn't have this conviction. ... Now you see it, the lightbulb has gone on. ... The way he fills up the strike zone with everything in his repertoire tells you how convicted he is and how good he can be."
O'Dowd took it a step further:
"I do think we need to start talking about Hunter Greene in the same way we talk about Paul Skenes," O'Dowd said. "I do believe he's made that jump at that same age to be that next dominant starter in the NL for years to come."
Greene has led the MLB in ERA since the start of 2024 with a minimum of 160 innings pitched. He is at 2.48, just below 2024 Cy Young winners Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale as well as Zack Wheeler. Greene is on a six-year, $53,000,000 contract with the Reds.
Paul Skenes has just 151.1 innings pitched since the start of 2024, so he doesn't qualify. Otherwise, he'd rank ahead of them with a 2.14 ERA.
Reds manager shouts out Hunter Greene
Hunter Greene just earned his first career win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The ace went seven shutout innings as the Cincinnati Reds earned a sweep and climbed a little bit in the NL Central standings.
Terry Francona, in his first year as Reds manager, said via The Athletic:
“He was f*****g awesome. It’s been pretty special. I haven’t been around him as long as everybody else has and I’m watching him work and I think you’re finding a good, young player find the next gear.”
Greene added eight strikeouts during the game and only walked one batter, something that had been plaguing him through the earlier portions of his MLB career.
