Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene improved to 9-4 with another seven-inning, one run gem against the St. Louis Cardinals. He also stuck out 8. He hasn’t lost a game since June 30. Greene is officially in the Cy Young conversation.
Hunter Greene has been sensational so far during his 2024 All-Star campaign. The hard-throwing right-hander has been virtually untouchable and currently ranks in the National League’s top five in strikeouts (149), ERA (2.83), WHIP (1.02), and wins. Among pitchers with at least 125 innings pitched this season, Greene carries the fifth-lowest ERA in the Majors.
Over his last four starts, Greene enjoyed one of the most productive stretches of his career, going 3-0 with a 0.35 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and just 7 hits allowed during that span. This includes a dazzling 11-strikeout, one-hit performance in his most recent start against the Giants that extended his scoreless streak to 21 innings. Given his efficiency, the 25-year-old Greene should be in consideration for the National League Cy Young Award – a rare feat for Black big leaguers.
“The overall growth that he has made all-around in his game this year has been a pleasure to watch,” Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson said. “He’s the ace of this team, and he’s showing that.”
It’s been 12 years since a Black pitcher won the illustrious Cy Young Award. To find the most recent Black recipient of the National League Cy Young Award, one would have to revert 39 years to Dwight “Doc” Gooden’s historic 1985 season with the Mets. This year, Greene could buck the trend and finish his breakout season as the Cy Young Award winner.
In his third season with Cincinnati, Greene has established himself as one of the premier pitchers in the Majors. His improved command has proved difficult for batters to contend with, and Greene’s lively fastball has been as effective as ever. While the average velocity on Greene’s fastball has dipped a bit, as has the whiff rate, opponents are batting just .183 against it. Comparatively, batters hit .265 against it last year and .261 against it in 2022.
Despite a slight drop in velocity, Greene’s fastball is still one of the best in baseball and ranks as the second-fastest pitch (97.7 MPH) among pitchers to throw at least 750 fastballs, trailing only the Angels José Soriano (98.1 mph). Improving his fastball location has opened things up for his splitter and slider and has the right-hander on the verge of a 200-strikeout season.
“His command has been unbelievable,” said Stephenson. “When he’s sitting there painting corners and he’s throwing as hard as he is and being able to throw his slider whenever he wants in counts, I just feel like his command has been a game-changer.”
During the first half of the season, Greene posted an impressive 1.11 WHIP and ranked ninth in the Majors in strikeouts. The former second overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft was then justifiably rewarded with his first All-Star selection.
“Being an All-Star is a huge privilege,” Greene said. “It means a lot. It’s a blessing. When you can get an All-Star [selection] this early in your career, I think it propels you in a lot of different ways.”
Greene has certainly elevated his game this season. The young hurler hasn’t just been good, he’s been historically good. Per OptaSTATS, Greene is the only MLB pitcher in the modern era to throw at least 30 innings while allowing no more than 10 hits and no more than 1 run over a five-start span. His ten combined hits over his past five outings are the fewest by a Reds pitcher (min. 25 IP) in a calendar month since 1900.
While fellow aces Chris Sale, Zack Wheeler, Tyler Glasnow, and Paul Skenes will challenge him for the award, Greene’s mind-boggling numbers should keep him in strong consideration for the National League Cy Young honors. For Greene, however, accolades aren’t the goal, and the Reds ace is focused on constant improvement.
“The work — it doesn’t stop,” Greene said. “I’m trying to pick things out in my game that I can get better at throughout the game. That’s been my focus, my mindset. I’m trying to find ways to be even better.”
Through the first month and a half of the Major League Baseball season, Cardinals’ pitcher Jack Flaherty is on his way to joining one of the rarest fraternities in baseball: Black Aces.
The title of ace is given to a very select few in the game of baseball. It comes with high expectations. When an ace is on the mound, it is win day; period. They stem the tide and stop losing streaks while also being able to be called on to perform in the biggest moments of the season and take down the best hitter on the planet.
The Black pitcher, in general, is a rare sight to see in our game. We see many of our MLB Bros showcase their athleticism while roaming in the outfield and even more recently have seen them anchoring defenses throughout the infield, most notably Gold Glove shortstop J.P. Crawford.
The term “Black Aces” derived from a book, “Baseball’s Only African-American Twenty Game Winners” written by former pitcher Jim “Mudcat” Grant, who was the first 20-game winner in the American League when he did it for the Minnesota Twins in 1965.
To qualify for the fraternity of Black Aces, you must win 20 games in a season. Looking at the current landscape of the game, there is one pitcher who looks like he will be on his way to having his own Probate this season, and it’s Flaherty.
The former 34th overall pick in the 2014 draft currently sits alone on the top of the throne for the Major League lead in wins. His record stands undefeated at 7-0 this season with a 2.47 ERA. He recently became the first Cardinals pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1965 to record a win in seven of his first eight games while having an ERA under three.
Flaherty will be compared to the late Gibson – who passed away last year at the age of 84 to cancer – throughout his entire career.
Gibson pitched for the Cardinals during his entire 17-year career and is one of the original Black Aces in the game of baseball. He recorded five 20 win seasons during his time in St. Louis, which is second most all-time only trailing Ferguson Jenkins who had seven such seasons.
Flaherty is trying to be the newest member of the Black Ace fraternity since David Price joined the group in 2012.
Recently retired future Hall of Famer C.C. Sabathia joined the group in 2010 and former pitcher Dontrelle Willis did so as well in 2005. Before then, the feat had not been reached since 1990 when it was accomplished by Dave Stewart who remarkably completed four straight 20 win seasons from 1987-1990.
Early this year, Sabathia presented Price with a custom sweatshirt and joggers. The logo has an Ace of spade between the two C’s with a B hovering over the Ace of Spade.
The numbers Flaherty is putting up this season have put him in the category of potential starters for the National League All-Star team in Colorado this summer, which won’t be easy in a National League that has the best pitcher in baseball – Mets’ Jacob Degrom – and the Padres’ Yu Darvish who has one of the deepest bags of pitches and the Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff whose strikeout-to-walk ratio is incredible. Hence, winning and continued quality starts will be key for Flaherty to give himself the starting nod.
After a shaky start on Opening Day, Flaherty has responded with a 1.47 ERA in his last 43 innings pitched. He has only allowed one home run in the past seven games and has currently registered six quality starts in a row.
He is yet to walk more than two batters in a start this year and in his last four starts, he has at least six strikeouts. Also this year, he joined the “Pitchers Who Rake” club when he hit his first career home run while pitching seven scoreless innings against the Rockies earlier in May.
The Black Ace Fraternity is ready to welcome Flaherty with open arms. He is closing in on the halfway point to be allowed in the club, and there’s a possibility that he’ll break past the bouncer before seasons end.
His next chance to start comes today as he will be on the mound in front of the St. Louis faithful taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last time he faced them, he notched a season-high nine strikeouts on May 1st.
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