Hunter

Greene

Greene’s first start in more than two months looked like most of his early outings prior to his original groin injury, as he struck out six and walked none. He had 16 missed swings while throwing only 85 pitches, and he improved to 5-3 with a 2.47 ERA and a 79/14 K/BB through 65 2/3 innings. Next up for him is a start against the Angels in Anaheim.

Greene is back as expected to make the start Wednesday against the Phillies. The right-hander was able to work 5 1/3 innings in his last rehab start, so he should be able to work deep enough — assuming he’s effective, of course — to potentially qualify for a win and put up quality fantasy numbers.

It’s not set in stone, but all indications point to Greene making his return from a two-month stint on the injured list recovering from a groin strain during Wednesday’s series finale against Philadelphia. The hard-throwing 26-year-old fantasy ace struck out seven and threw 79 pitches over 5 1/3 innings on Friday in his latest minor league rehab start for Triple-A Louisville. He’ll provide an immediate boost for Cincinnati — and fantasy managers as well.

Francona added that they’re hoping to get Greene up to roughly 80 pitches after he threw 66 pitches over 3 1/3 innings on Sunday in his latest rehab outing at the Triple-A level. The 25-year-old fantasy ace should be ready to return to Cincinnati’s rotation sometime around the middle of next week.

Greene struck out seven and walked one while throwing 42 of his 66 pitches for strikes. He sat 98.8 mph with his fastball and posted a 40 percent whiff rate, so he seems pretty healthy. The Reds have not yet announced a plan for their rotation moving forward, but if they opt not to go with a six-man rotation, Greene could return on Friday and take Chase Burns’ spot in the rotation.

Greene threw 50 pitches (38 strikes) as he piled up six strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass in his second rehab outing. He did give up five hits, including a pair of homers. The hard-throwing 25-year-old ace will likely need at least one additional start in the minors to build up his pitch count and stamina before returning to Cincinnati. He’s been out since early June recovering from a groin strain.

Greene threw 28 pitches (16 strikes) in his first rehab outing since landing on the injured list back in early June with a groin strain. The hard-throwing 25-year-old fantasy ace will require a handful of additional starts to continue building up his pitch count and stamina but should make it back to Cincinnati at some point in early to mid August.

Francona added that Greene will make at least one start in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League before heading to Triple-A Louisville. The flame-throwing 25-year-old righty has been on the shelf since early June recovering from a groin strain and a back issue that cropped up during his rehabilitation process. It’s possible he makes it back to Cincinnati’s rotation at some point in early August.

Greene suffered a setback in his rehab on Monday from the groin injury he suffered back in June. While he was able to throw a bullpen Tuesday, there’s still discomfort. Francona said that Greene is moving his rehab assignment to the Reds’ spring training facility in Goodyear, Arizona. Fantasy managers should be prepared to be without Greene for the long haul at this point.

It’s an extremely encouraging sign that Greene is throwing after undergoing additional testing earlier this week after experiencing renewed groin discomfort. The hard-throwing 25-year-old fantasy ace was scheduled to make a minor league rehab start this week, but that’s no longer happening. There should be some clarity on his status at some point soon, but fantasy managers should view it as a positive development that he’s throwing again without an extended shutdown.