bobrob2004

I believe there are deadline dates where teams have to reduce their roster sizes.

These moves were likely already decided before Spring Training. Despite a lot of open roster spots, I don't think either of them were seriously considered unless there were a lot of injuries. That being said, both are probably going to make their ML debut at some point during this season, especially if they perform well in AAA.

Bobrob’s 2023 Preseason Prediction #8 – Eric Michael Haase Eric Haase seemingly came out of nowhere to hit 22 home runs for the Tigers in 2021, tied with Schoop for second most on the team while playing in only 98 games. He kept that power in 2022, hitting 14 home runs (again second most on the Tigers) in limited at-bats again while having a higher batting average (.231 to .254), on-base percentage (.286 to .305), and wRC+ (101 to 112). With Jake Rogers having a great Spring Training (so far), he may get the majority of the playing time at catcher (at least to start the season), but Haase could easily get playing time in left field and designated hitter while sharing catching duties (and he has definitely earned the playing time). With only 351 plate appearances, Haase was third on the Tigers in fWAR at 1.3. His 112 wRC+ was the highest on the team with a minimum of 300 plate appearances. His ISO (.189) and SLG (.443) was also the highest on the team. The Tigers had the worst offense in 2022 with the lowest number of home runs (110), ISO (.115) and wRC+ (81) in all of baseball last year and it would definitely have been even worse without Haase on the team. With more playing time and a shorter fence at Comerica Park, Haase could hit even more home runs in 2023. Haase also has his weaknesses. He was second to only Riley Greene in strikeout rate (27.6 percent, career 30.1 percent). His walk rate of 6.8 percent is right around league average and he likely won’t be stealing any bases anytime soon. He’s also entering his age 30 season, which is a little old for someone to sustain good numbers with the workload of a full season (500+ plate appearances) for the first time in his career. Manager A.J. Hinch could limit his playing time once again as he will mix and match with his other players (Rogers, Miguel Cabrera, Kerry Carpenter, etc.). Eric Haase hit better against left-handed pitchers in 2021: Vs. RHP – 254 PA | .204/.272/.390 Vs. LHP – 127 PA | .283/.315/.592 Although he was pretty even in 2022: Vs. RHP – 227 PA | .239/.291/.440 Vs. LHP – 124 PA | .281/.331/.447 Being a right-handed batter, it makes sense to primarily bat him against left-handed pitching. But if he is capable of hitting right-handed pitchers like he did last year, it’ll be hard to keep him out of the lineup (especially if everyone else on the team struggles like they did last year). Like with every other player, playing time is the hardest to predict. Most of the projections below only have him at 300 at-bats or lower. I don’t really understand that. With his hitting ability, position flexibility, and the Tigers’ uncertainty in left-field (and to a lesser extent catcher and designated hitter), I can easily see Haase getting a fair bit of plate appearances, if healthy. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 250 AB |.225/.286/.408 | 11 HR | 33 RBI | 1 SB | 20 BB | 77 K ZiPS DC – 262 AB |.226/.286/.418 | 12 HR | 39 RBI | 1 SB | 21 BB | 90 K THE BAT X – 305 AB | .220/.281/.397 | 13 HR | 40 RBI | 1 SB | 24 BB | 101 K ATC – 304 AB | .228/.286/.416 | 14 HR | 42 RBI | 1 SB | 24 BB | 99 K FGDC – 261 AB | .226/.286/.413 | 12 HR | 36 RBI | 1 SB | 21 BB | 85 K RotoChamp – 304 AB | .230/.287/.424 | 14 HR | 42 RBI | 1 SB | 24 BB | 100 K CBS Sports – 321 AB | .231/.284/.405 | 13 HR | 41 RBI | 1 SB | 23 BB | 98 K ESPN – 338 AB | .243/.298/.462 | 19 HR | 53 RBI | 1 SB | 26 BB | 110 K My Prediction: 2022 Prediction – N/A 2022 Actual – 323 AB | .254/,305/.443 | 14 HR | 44 RBI | 0 SB | 24 BB | 97 K 2023 Prediction – 390 AB | .246/.299/.462 | 23 HR | 60 RBI | 29 BB | 123 K

I mean, he did say #2, not #4.

I'll take Alex Lange.

Proof that Baez should be playing second base.

Can someone explain what this is?

Bobrob’s 2023 Preseason Prediction #7 – Austin Wade Meadows Austin Meadows was supposed to be an anchor to the Tigers lineup in 2022. After hitting 27 home runs with 106 RBI for the Rays in 2021, Meadows only played in 36 games with the Tigers last year and hitting no home runs. Meadows suffered from tendinitis in his Achilles in June and missed the rest of the season. Along with the physical injury, Meadows also suffered from mental health issues. With the new regime under Scott Harris, the Tigers have employed a mental health and wellness director, so hopefully Meadows has gotten and can continue to get the help that he needs. Like with many other players on this Tigers roster, getting back to form means going back four years ago to 2019. What separates Meads from several of the other Tigers players, is that he is only entering his age 28 season, an age that is usually in a player’s prime years. In 2019, he hit .291/.364/.558 with 33 home runs and a 144 wRC+. In 2020, Meadows missed time after having a positive test for COVID, so he only played in 36 games, hitting .205/.296/.371. In 2021, his power returned, hitting 27 home runs, but his rate stats didn’t improve much, hitting .234/.315/.458. Then last year, Meadows had no power, hitting .250/.347/.328. If Meadows can stay healthy, both physically and mentally, 2023 could be a big year for him. There’s evidence that Meadows was on both sides of fortune for 2019 (good) and 2021 (bad). In 2019, he had a .331 BABIP, while in 2021 it was down to .249. Most of it could be attributed to one thing: speed. Meadows had a .265 batting average when hitting the ball on the ground in 2019. However, in 2021 his average fell to .190 on ground balls. In 2019, Meadows stole 12 bases, but only stole four in 2021 (and last year he only attempted to steal once and was caught). Speed is usually one of the first things a player loses, so he probably won’t have the averages of 2019 or even attempt more than a handful of steals in 2023 (even with the bigger bases). Meadows’ walk rate and strikeout rates have also improved during the years, which is a very encouraging sign: 2019 – 9.1% BB% | 22.2% K% 2020 – 11.2% BB% | 32.9% K% 2021 – 10.0% BB% | 20.6% K% 2022 – 10.9% BB% | 11.6% K% Keep in mind that 2020 and 2022 are shortened seasons, so the strikeout rates for those seasons are likely skewed, although it did go down from 22.2 percent in 2019 to 20.6 percent in 2021. The walk rate of 10-11 percent is a slight increase to the 9.1 percent in 2019 and shows promise. One area of great concern is the defense, something that Meadows has shown to be below average in his whole career. With Miguel Cabrera’s playing time being shortened this year, it makes sense that Meadows could see more time at DH and will likely take over that position in the future if he has a good 2023 season. Like with so many Tigers player this year, the biggest thing for Meadows is his ability to stay healthy. Playing time is always the hardest thing to predict, especially when a player is prone to injury like Meadows. Usually it is easy to see when a player is struggling because he has a physical injury, but who knows how his playing is affected or has been affected due to mental issues? I sure don’t. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 501 AB | .246/.323/.432 | 20 HR | 61 RBI | 6 SB | 53 BB | 108 K ZiPS DC – 474 AB | .266/.346/.472 | 20 HR | 72 RBI | 4 SB | 54 BB | 99 K THE BAT X – 422 AB | .242/.325/.422 | 16 HR | 55 RBI | 4 SB | 48 BB | 86 K ATC – 423 AB | .243/.324/.426 | 16 HR | 58 RBI | 4 SB | 47 BB | 92 K FGDC – 475 AB | .256/.335/.452 | 19 HR | 65 RBI | 5 SB | 52 BB | 101 K RotoChamp – 442 AB | .249/.328/.437 | 17 HR | 60 RBI | 4 SB | 49 BB | 93 K CBS Sports – 522 AB | .245/.320/.425 | 20 HR | 77 RBI | 3 SB | 51 BB | 105 K ESPN – 405 AB | .247/.333/.440 | 16 HR | 72 RBI | 6 SB | 50 BB | 89 K My Prediction: 2022 Prediction – 529 AB | .263/.342/.501 | 27 HR | 96 RBI | 7 SB | 62 BB | 127 K 2022 Actual – 128 AB | .250/.347/.328 | 0 HR | 11 RBI | 0 SB | 16 BB | 17 K 2023 Prediction – 492 AB | .254/.340/.429 | 20 HR | 62 RBI | 4 SB | 60 BB | 121 K

Don't forget that all of Ilitch's companies, the Tigers, Red Wings, Little Caesar's, Olympia Entertainment, etc. are all under one umbrella, Ilitch Holdings. While they likely keep statements separate for each organization internally, it is impossible for the public to know exactly the revenues and expenses for each individual one. It is easy for them to absorb the losses the Tigers might have because of the other companies. Although according to Forbes, the Tigers made a profit of $31 million in 2021 (under Mike it usually showed a negative). https://www.forbes.com/teams/detroit-tigers/?sh=1b85cb8871e0

Bobrob’s 2023 Preseason Prediction #6 – Matthew Robert Boyd Matt Boyd missed a lot of the 2021 season due to a triceps strain. He only made two starts in the second half of the season while suffering from a forearm injury that kept him on the injured list through most of the 2022 season after having surgery. Scott Harris had signed Boyd before the 2022 season with the Giants, but flipped him to Seattle at the deadline without Boyd appearing in any games for them. Boyd pitched in 10 games with the Mariners, all in relief, with a 1.35 ERA in 13 1/3 innings. Scott Harris, now with the Tigers, signed Boyd for the 2023 season with the plan of making him a starting pitcher once again. The last time Boyd started 30+ games was in 2019, when he had a 4.56 ERA in 185 1/3 innings. Similar to the signing of Michael Lorenzen, the Tigers are yet again banking on a broken-down pitcher to stabilize a rotation that had 17 different starting pitchers in 2022. Maybe he’ll be an upgrade to Michael Pineda. Maybe… 2021 was shaping up to be Matty B’s best season. In his first 13 starts before the injuries, he posted a 3.44 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 7.1 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 in 70 2/3 innings. He was able to keep his home runs down to less than one per nine innings after leading the league in home runs allowed the previous two seasons. It was really looking like a bounce-back year for Boyd after a very disappointing 6.71 ERA in 12 starts in the pandemic 2020 season. One of Boyd’s biggest strengths is his ability to get strikeouts. In 2018 he had a 22.4 percent strikeout rate; in 2019 30.2 percent; in 2020 22.1 percent; in 2021 19.9 percent; in 2022 24.5 percent. Walks were an issue with Boyd last year with a walk rate of 15.1 percent (career 7.5 percent) but again, it was a very small sample. Even though Boyd eliminated his curveball in 2022, his pitches were much more varied last year than earlier in his career. In 2019 and 2020, about half of his pitches were fastballs, but he lowered this to 41.9 percent in 2021 and 32.8 percent in 2022. At the same time, his sinkerball usage increased. When it was introduced in 2017, he threw it 24.5 percent of the time, but lessened it the next few years and by 2020 he only threw it 2.4 percent of the time. In 2022, the sinker usage was back to 14.6 percent while his slider usage was at 32.8 percent and his changeup was at 18.8 percent. Maybe this change happened because he was pitching in relief, but this is an encouraging sign as he is learning to change speeds as he ages. Just like with Lorenzen, it’s very hard to predict what Boyd will do this year because of the injuries. It’s been four years since he has started 32 games and is now on the wrong side of 30. If he stays healthy, has a strikeout rate of over nine per nine (like he did in 2019), and can keep the walks and home runs down (like in 2021), he’ll be alright. But that’s a heck of a lot of ifs. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 153 IP | 8-10 W/L | 4.22 ERA | 1.27 WHIP | 140 K | 46 BB ZiPS DC – 143 IP | 8-9 W/L | 4.14 ERA | 1.24 WHIP | 155 K | 45 BB THE BAT – 129 IP | 7-10 W/L | 4.63 ERA | 1.31 WHIP | 110 K | 42 BB ATC – 129 IP | 6-10 W/L | 4.26 ERA | 1.28 WHIP | 118 K | 41 BB FGDC – 148 IP | 8-10 W/L | 4.18 ERA | 1.25 WHIP | 148 K | 46 BB RotoChamp – 136 IP | 7-10 W/L | 4.30 ERA | 1.28 WHIP | 128 K | 43 BB CBS Sports – N/A ESPN – 124 IP | 6 W | 3.99 ERA | 1.25 WHIP | 113 K | 36 BB My Prediction: 2022 Prediction – N/A 2022 Actual – 13 1/3 IP | 2-0 W/L | 1.35 ERA | 0.975 WHIP | 13 K | 8 BB 2023 Prediction – 129 1/3 IP | 7-7 W/L | 4.18 ERA | 1.338 WHIP | 126 K | 42 BB

Because why let a company like Netflix stream your IP when you can do it yourself? Start with a low rate and hope that you are one of the last ones standing and then jack up the price once they have you hooked. https://slate.com/technology/2022/08/streaming-trouble-hbo-max-netflix.htm Most streaming services, including Netflix, now offer an ad tier. The advertising revenue helps. HBO Max is selling off it's original content to make more money. Netflix, not only with the password restrictions, now offers an ad tier, something that was unfathomable a few years ago. Peacock is ending it's partnership with Comcast later on this year. Everyone is scrambling to try to increase their revenue. It's just a personal belief, but I don't think most streaming services will try to restrict password sharing. The cons far out-weight the pros.

So, yeah, apparently ChatGPT thinks the Tigers signed Eduardo Escobar: Note: Escobar hit 28 home runs with 90 RBI in 2021 while batting .253 batting average and an OPS of .786.

I asked ChatGPT how well the Tigers will do this year. This is the response: Note: The Tigers finished with a record of 66-96 in 2022 in 4th place. The AI got confused. The Tigers finished with a 77-85 record in 2021 in 3rd place. I don't understand how they got 74-88. Also, the Tigers never signed Eduardo Escobar and Barnhart is gone.

Every single streaming service loses money. The difference between Netflix and everyone else is that everyone else has a parent company that can absorb those losses. Netflix is all on it's own. Therefore, they need to try things like stop password sharing in order to try to maximize profits. The other streaming services already knew they were going to lose money before they started, so it's not worth it to restrict passwords because of the PR nightmare. You'll see more bundles like Showtime with Paramount Plus and HBO Max with Discovery Plus. Hulu will likely get absorbed into Disney Plus once the Comcast contract is expired. It's like a diversified portfolio, when you can bundle there's less risk involved and better for everyone involved.

Only Netflix and they've been getting so much harsh criticism that I don't see other streaming services try it any time soon. And Netflix hasn't even rolled it out in the U.S. Market yet.

Most people don't pay for all of them at the same time, but rather rotate them every few months. There's also password sharing, which reduces the cost.

Maybe not in the immediate future, but check back in about 10-15 years. I think streaming will be a viable option for local broadcasts.

Why not? Currently they are 100% on cable, but every year more and more people are cutting the cord and are going to streaming. Pretty soon there will be more people without cable than with cable.

I'm not talking about national contract. I'm talking about the Tigers making an agreement with one of them to stream in only the local market.

Yeah, I guess the old fashion way of a local channel like ABC or NBC airing the games isn't attractive or lucrative anymore (and they probably already have their summer programs lined up). I wonder if it'll be feasible for YouTube, Peacock, or AppleTV to stream local games? Or would this interfere with MLB.tv?

Bobrob’s 2023 Preseason Prediction #5 – Jonathan Rufino Jezus Schoop Johnathan Schoop had the worst season of his career in 2022; his lowest batting average (.202), on-base percentage (.239), slugging percentage (.322), and wRC+ (57). In fact, a good argument can be made that Schoop was the worst hitter in all of baseball last year as he had the lowest wRC+ of anyone that had enough plate appearances to qualify for the leaderboard (and was in the bottom five in most of the other categories). The only saving grace for Schoop last year was his defense. After spending the 2021 season playing out of position at first base, Schoop’s defensive numbers went back to being above average with an 8 DRS and a 4.4 UZR/150 while playing second base last year. If it wasn’t for his stellar defense, he likely would have had a negative WAR. Mamba is entering his age 31 season. Even though he is now on the wrong side of 30, a steep decline at this age is highly unusual without it being injury related. It is possible that when we look back at his career in a few years, 2022 will just look like a fluke season. Although, there is likely some truth to it due to natural regression because of age. Luckily for Schoop, there are rule changes this year that will favor hitters. There are several stats that show Schoop’s decline in 2022, but one that sticks out is how he couldn’t catch up with the fastball: 2021 - .325 AVG | .468 SLG | 10 HR 2022 - .217 AVG | .291 SLG | 2 HR Overall, Jonathan Schoop only hit 11 home runs, the lowest total he has ever hit in a season since becoming an everyday player that didn’t include a pandemic year. His walk rate dropped from 5.5 percent in 2021 to 3.7 percent in 2022, while his strikeout rate of 21 percent was right around his career norm (22.2 percent). Schoop stole five bases last year, a career high (impressive considering how little he was on base). He could steal a few more bases in 2023 with the bigger bases and the fact that it will take just a little bit of improvement to get on base more. One concerning stat from Schoop is the number of softly hit balls he hits, not just in 2022, but for his entire career. In 2022, 24.1 percent of his balls in play were hit softly, the most in the Majors. His career mark is at 23.0 percent. For most of his career, this wasn’t a problem as he was mostly able to hit for above average; six of his nine seasons he had a wRC+ of above 100, including his two other years in Detroit, 117 in 2020 and 107 in 2021. But maybe this was a factor in his steep decline? Jonathan Schoop should have better numbers across the board in 2023, if he really is healthy. However, I would wager that he is done being an above average hitter. I can foresee a similar season like he had in 2018, in which he hit .233/.266/.416 with an 80 wRC+. Although I don’t think he will be capable of hitting 20+ home runs anymore, even with the Tigers moving in the fences. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 529 AB | .245/.289/.394 | 17 HR | 65 RBI | 4 SB | 28 BB | 114 K ZiPS DC – 535 AB | .251/.293/.400 | 17 HR | 61 RBI | 3 SB | 26 BB | 119 K THE BAT X – 493 AB | .238/.283/.377 | 14 HR | 57 RBI | 2 SB | 25 BB | 109 K ATC – 493 AB | .242/.285/.385 | 15 HR | 57 RBI | 3 SB | 25 BB | 109 K FGDC – 534 AB | .248/.291/.397 | 17 HR | 63 RBI | 3 SB | 27 BB | 117 K RotoChamp – 512 AB | .244/.286/.389 | 16 HR | 59 RBI | 3 SB | 26 BB | 113 K CBS Sports – 487 AB | .240/.284/.394 | 16 HR | 51 RBI | 4 SB | 25 BB | 105 K ESPN – 481 AB | .245/.287/.395 | 16 HR | 54 RBI | 2 SB | 24 BB | 105 K My Prediction: 2022 Prediction – 578 AB | .268/.308/.424 | 21 HR | 75 RBI | 1 SB | 31 BB | 130 K 2022 Actual – 481 AB | .202/.239/.322 | 11 HR | 38 RBI | 5 SB | 19 BB | 107 K 2023 Prediction – 546 AB | .253/.288/.390 | 16 HR | 55 RBI | 8 SB | 23 BB | 125 K

This is my thought as well. If Bally fails to pay the Tigers for the broadcasting rights, then couldn't the Tigers terminate the contract and go to another network?

Not only has Hawk retired, but his replacement, Jason Benetti, is considered one of the best tv announcers right now. https://www.pitcherlist.com/ranking-all-30-mlb-broadcast-booths/

Bobrob’s 2023 Preseason Prediction #4 – Michael Clifton Lorenzen For most of his career Michael Lorenzen was a relief pitcher. Then in 2022 when he signed as a Free Agent with the Angels, he became a starting pitcher for the first time since his rookie season. He only started in 18 games, though, as he suffered a right shoulder injury. He also suffered a shoulder surgery in 2021 that caused him to miss a significant portion of the season. One has to wonder if moving back to the bullpen would be a better option as they can monitor his innings better. During the 2018 season, Cowboy (yes that’s his nickname) batted .290/.333/.710 with 4 home runs and a 172 wRC+ in 34 plate appearances. This gave the Zen Master (yes, another real nickname) a desire to play some games in the outfield and become a two-way player. The Reds accommodated and during the 2019 season, Lorenzen played 30 games in the outfield while batting .208/.283/.313 with 1 home run and a disappointing 53 wRC+. He was a much better pitcher with a 2.92 ERA, 24.8 percent strikeout rate, 8.2 percent walk rate, and a career best 3.66 FIP and a 1.3 fWAR in 83 1/3 innings pitched with seven saves. The two-way experiment stopped after that season. Here are Lorenzen’s stats over the last three seasons: 2020 – 33 2/3 IP | 23.8% K% | 11.6% BB | 3.87 FIP 2021 – 29 IP | 16.8% K% | 11.6% BB% | 4.17 FIP 2022 – 97 2/3 IP | 20.7% K% | 10.7% BB% | 4.31 FIP It’s hard to judge his 2020-21 seasons due to lack of innings. He has always struggled with the walks, he hasn’t averaged a strikeout an inning since 2020, and for the first time since his rookie season he allowed an average HR/9 of over 1 in 2022. He averaged 5.4 innings per start last year, but didn’t go past the fifth inning in seven of his last eight starts. In 13 of his 18 starts, he did allow three runs or less which gave him more wins (8) than losses (6), an encouraging sign. That also means he was very bad in his other five starts, two of which he allowed seven earned runs. It's hard to predict what exactly Lorenzen will do in 2023 due to the small sample sizes over the last few years. He had his best year in 2019, but that was four years and two shoulder injuries ago. He's also on the wrong side of 30, in a different role, and now with rule changes favoring hitters over pitchers. I foresee a very similar year this year, but with the natural regression of age. And who knows how healthy he is going to be. Of the five projected starting pitchers for the Tigers rotation this year, Eduardo Rodriguez (91), Matt Boyd (13 1/3), Michael Lorenzen (97 2/3), Matt Manning (63), and Spencer Turnbull (0), Lorenzen had pitched the most innings in 2022…and it was still under 100 innings. Every single one of these pitchers spent time on the injured list last year. I do not like the signing of Lorenzen. I believe the Tigers should have spent the money on someone with more durability and less prone to injury; someone with the history of starting 30-32 games over the last few seasons to anchor the rotation. As mentioned above, I think Lorenzen’s best value is in the bullpen, where his innings can be better monitored. Maybe Hinch is planning on using the piggy-back strategy and will pair him (and several other starting pitchers) with someone else and only going 3-4 innings per start. I can see a similar scenario as last year with several injuries and the Tigers struggling to get innings out of anyone; bringing up young pitchers from the minors before they are ready. We’ll just have to wait and see. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 141 IP | 7-10 W/L | 4.38 ERA | 1.41 WHIP | 114 K | 57 BB ZiPS DC – 139 IP | 8-10 W/L | 3.94 ERA | 1.29 WHIP | 116 K | 58 BB THE BAT – 131 IP | 7-10 W/L | 4.63 ERA | 1.41 WHIP | 102 K | 54 BB ATC – 131 IP | 7-9 W/L | 4.29 ERA | 1.36 WHIP | 107 K | 56 BB FGDC – 140 IP | 8-10 W/L | 4.16 ERA | 1.35 WHIP | 115 K | 58 BB RotoChamp – 135 IP | 7-9 W/L | 4.27 ERA | 1.36 WHIP | 111 K | 57 BB CBS Sports – 149 IP | 12-8 W/L | 3.32 ERA | 1.10 WHIP | 125 K | 44 BB ESPN – 119 IP | 6 W | 4.24 ERA | 1.38 WHIP | 101 K | 54 BB My Prediction: 2022 Prediction – N/A 2022 Actual – 97 2/3 IP | 8-6 W/L | 4.24 ERA | 1.280 WHIP | 85 K | 44 BB 2023 Prediction – 123 1/3 IP | 6-10 W/L | 4.45 ERA | 1.330 WHIP | 100 K | 58 BB

Bobrob’s 2023 Preseason Prediction #3 – Riley “The Sophomore” Greene Riley Greene’s first year in the Majors was perfectly…adequate. In 93 games, he hit .253/.321/.362 with a very average 98 wRC+. The 21-year old had an above average 8.6 percent walk rate, but a team high 28.7 percent strikeout rate. Like every other hitter on the Tigers, power numbers were disappointing. In 2021, Greene had a .227 ISO in 84 games at AA and a .245 ISO in 40 games at AAA; in 2022 with the Tigers, this dropped to a .109 ISO. Given his age and minor league numbers, this is an area that he can easily improve on. Prior to the 2022 season, Greene was named the 4th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America and was practically given the centerfield starting position. However, he broke his foot during Spring Training and missed most of the first half of the year. His injury may have had something to do with his struggles, but it’s more likely first year adjusting to the Major Leagues that was giving him troubles. Now that he has some Major League experience and (hopefully) fully healthy, he might be able to improve on his stats. That is, if the sophomore slump doesn’t get him. Surprisingly, as a left-handed hitter, Riley Greene struggled against right-handed pitching, hitting .232/.308/.348 against them and .303/.353/.395 against left-handed pitching. If Greene can improve against right-handed pitching, we will likely see higher averages and (hopefully) more power. As far as the rule changes of the shift, Greene was actually better when there was a shift (.361 average in 161 PA) than without one (.355 average in 93 PA), although it's probably small sample noise. 56 percent of his balls were hit on the ground last year. What is going to make a bigger difference for Greene is hitting more fly balls if he wants to become a power hitter. This is going to have to be a major adjustment for him because he has always hit more ground balls than fly balls during his minor league career. Greene stole 16 bases in the minors in 2021 and only 1 in the Majors last year. Even though there will be bigger bases this year, Hinch will have to be more aggressive with him if he is going to steal more bases. It may make a difference where Hinch bats him in the lineup. Lead-off will likely allow more stolen base opportunities, but he could slide in the third spot if his power develops. Sophomore players are always hard to predict because you never know how they are going to adjust. I could see him becoming the best hitter on the team in 2023, but at the same time, he could regress so much that he’ll be demoted to AAA. So, I’ll end this by saying what I hope to see from him: more fly balls, less ground balls and less strikeouts. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 548 AB | .254/.324/.393 | 13 HR | 62 RBI | 7 SB | 54 BB | 159 K ZiPS DC – 534 AB | .253/.323/.406 | 15 HR | 67 RBI | 6 SB | 53 BB | 160 K THE BAT X – 524 AB | .244/.320/.380 | 13 HR | 55 RBI | 7 SB | 54 BB | 158 K ATC – 525 AB | .250/.321/.389 | 13 HR | 60 RBI | 6 SB | 52 BB | 157 K FGDC – 533 AB | .253/.324/.399 | 14 HR | 64 RBI | 6 SB | 53 BB | 157 K RotoChamp – 527 AB | .250/.320/.385 | 12 HR | 60 RBI | 5 SB | 52 BB | 159 K CBS Sports – 489 AB | .245/.317/.380 | 11 HR | 60 RBI | 3 SB | 49 BB | 153 K ESPN – 516 AB | .258/.334/.417 | 13 HR | 65 RBI | 10 SB | 56 BB | 163 K My Prediction: 2022 Prediction – 374 AB | .257/.330/.455 | 15 HR | 47 RBI | 8 SB | 38 BB | 126 K 2022 Actual – 376 AB | .253/.321/.362 | 5 HR | 42 RBI | 1 SB | 36 BB | 120 K 2023 Prediction – 521 AB | .267/.338/.438 | 16 HR | 65 RBI | 8 SB | 54 BB | 152 K