Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene is a 24-year-old starting pitcher who hasn’t even pitched in 100 professional baseball games. He’s still learning the best ways to sequence pitches. He’s still figuring out how to be less predictable. He’s still going through a three-year process of turning his changeup into a legitimate third pitch.
The Reds shouldn’t need Greene to return from the 60-day injured list and immediately pitch like an ace. But they do need that from him as a young pitching staff looks for a top-of-the-rotation pitcher to carry the Reds down the stretch.
Greene returned to the mound as a potential season-changer on Sunday, and he made arguably the worst start of his career.