Kansas City, Mo. — Riley Greene is producing like the All-Star that he is.
His 24 RBIs in May (before Saturday) are the most he’s ever had in any month of his career. Over a 39-game stretch that started on April 17, he hit .302 with 10 homers, 35 RBIs, a .366 on-base percentage, a .557 slug and .923 OPS.
He’s also swinging and missing and striking out at the highest rate of his career.
You wouldn’t think both things could be true.
“The swing and miss is entirely about pitch selection,” manager AJ Hinch said. “It doesn’t matter what your (swing) path is. If you pick a bad pitch to swing at, you are going to miss at this level.”
Understand that nobody is sounding any alarms here. There are no red flags. It’s just a fascinating dichotomy between the damage he’s doing when he connects and the increased frequency of when he doesn’t.
His hard-hit rate is 49%, which is exceptional. He’s making contact on 77.6% of the pitches he swings at in the zone, also very good. But his chase rate (31.3%), whiff rate (31.3%) and strikeout rate (31.5%) are at career-high levels.
He has one of the steepest bat tilts in the game, at 46 degrees. He increased that two years ago to enable himself to hit more balls in the air. He was asked if the increased whiff rate was a trade-off for that.
“There is no trade-off,” Greene said. “I feel like (the tilt) is the same as last year. But I’m chasing more this year and that’s going to add to the swing and miss because I’m expanding outside the zone.
“I don’t know why, but I am. That’s something that’s been addressed and needs to be fixed.”
This would be a good time to remind ourselves that Greene is still 24 years old. He’d be the first to tell you that he’s not a finished product. And yet, here he is with 13 homers and 40 RBIs at the end of May.
“With Riley, the better pitches he gets, the better he does,” Hinch said. “He does get into swing mode and will overswing a little bit, which is a recipe to correct for him. He’s going to get pitched as hard as anybody, as uniquely as anybody and as delicately has anybody.
“He can counter that by shrinking his strike zone and not be in swing mode as much.”
But then you look at his first at-bat Friday night against Royals righty Seth Lugo. He was in full attack mode and launched a first-pitch cutter 429 feet into the seats in right field.
“Being aggressive is a good mindset to have,” Hinch said. “It’s just about the zone.”
His aggressiveness is both a strength and a weakness. It’s a hard game.
“I’m just trying to make things happen instead of letting things come to me,” Greene said. “I don’t know what the number is, but if I swing in the zone, I am sure I’m hitting the ball.
“Cut down on the chase, cut down on the swing and miss.”
Even elite hitters have growing pains.
“There are always ways to get better,” Hinch said. “I don’t think it’s a problem. I think it’s part of growing up in the big leagues and being the hitter he’s going to be. He’s not finished yet nor is he ever going to be.
“Hitters should always be trying to get better.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
Tigers at Royals
▶ First pitch: 2:10 p.m. Sunday, Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
▶ TV/radio: FSDN/97.1
SCOUTING REPORT
▶ RHP Keider Montero (2-1, 4.54), Tigers: He was impressive last time out against the Giants. He had full command of his arsenal, spinning sliders (up to 2,800 rpm) and knuckle-curves (average 2,900 rpm) off four-seamers and sinkers (to right-handed hitters). He allowed just one hit in five shutout innings. It was the type of encouraging performance the Tigers needed to see, since, with Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe on the injured list, Montero is now the fourth starter in the rotation.
▶ LHP Kris Bubic (5-2, 1.45), Royals: In his second full year back from Tommy John surgery, he’s found his groove. His 3.1 pitcher WAR is best in baseball, as is his 1.45 ERA. In five starts in May, he allowed two earned runs in 32⅓ innings with 33 strikeouts and eight walks. Off a high-spin (2,400 rpm) four-seam fastball (92 mph), he throws an elite changeup (opponents are 5-for-47 against it) and sweeper (10-for-58) to right-handed hitters. Lefties get his sinker-slider combo.
