Hunter Greene (baseball)


Christian Hunter Greene is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. The Reds selected Greene with the second overall selection of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.

Career

Starting in 2008, Greene trained in baseball at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California. He played on the United States national baseball team in the 2015 18-and-under Baseball World Cup, where the United States won the gold medal. Greene attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, where he played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher and shortstop. He finished his high school baseball career with a 1.62 earned run average and a.324 batting average, including a 0.75 ERA in his senior year. He participated in the Junior Home Run Derby at the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and won. During his senior year at Notre Dame, his fastball reached up to. He became the 13th high school athlete to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated in April 2017. He committed to attend the University of California, Los Angeles on a college baseball scholarship to play for the UCLA Bruins.
Greene was considered a potential first overall draft pick for the 2017 MLB draft. The Cincinnati Reds selected him, as a pitcher, with the second overall selection. Greene signed a professional contract with the Reds at the signing deadline, forgoing his commitment to UCLA, for a $7.23 million signing bonus, the largest bonus given out during the slotting system that began in 2012, and the largest bonus since Gerrit Cole received an $8 million bonus in 2011. The Reds assigned Greene to the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League. He played as a pitcher and as a designated hitter on days he did not pitch. He made three pitching appearances for Billings, totaling innings pitched, and batted 7-for-30 as a designated hitter.
In 2018, the Reds assigned Greene to the Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League, where he appeared solely as a pitcher. He represented the Reds at the 2018 All-Star Futures Game. Greene spent all of 2018 with Dayton, compiling a 3–7 win-loss record with a 4.48 ERA in 18 starts. His season ended prematurely due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. After suffering a setback in his rehabilitation in March 2019 that further damaged the UCL, Greene underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his 2019 season.

Personal life

Greene lives in Stevenson Ranch, California. His mother, Senta, works as an educational consultant. His father, Russell, played college football for Humboldt State University and is a private investigator. Russell worked for Johnnie Cochran and now owns his own firm in Hollywood. Hunter has two younger siblings: a sister, Libriti, and a brother, Ethan. Libriti was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of five, and went into remission four years later.
In addition to baseball, Greene paints and plays the violin.