The Royals have claimed right-handed pitcher Conner Greene off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals and have designated pitcher Burch Smith for assignment. Greene will be protected from the Rule 5 draft next month, while Smith is now exposed.
The 23-year old Greene was originally a seventh-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013 out of Santa Monica High School in California. Standing at 6’3’’, Greene throws in the mid-90s, according to MLB Pipeline, who ranked Greene as the 27th-best Cardinals prospect, with his fastball occasionally reaching triple digits.
When he is throwing well, he throws downhill and with sink to elicit ground ball outs, but too often the heater has flattened out of late, leading to him being more hittable than he should be.