The next prospect in the New York Yankees system that we will be looking at is a pitcher that has already seen a lot of scenery changes in his professional career. That prospect would be right-handed starter, Nick Green. Green initially was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. The New York Yankees acquired him in the Carlos Beltran trade back in 2016. After spending some time in the Yankees organization, Green was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Diamondbacks in 2018. However, Green was returned to the Yankees before he made an appearance for the D-Backs. Green has a very solid arm with a nice repertoire of pitches. He generates a ton of weak contact which is good, but that actually played into his rough 2019 season.
Green’s 2019 Struggles
2018 was a big year for Nick Green. He opened up a lot of eyes in the Yankees organization by going 8-7 with a 3.32 ERA. The D-Backs liked what they saw enough to draft the unprotected prospect. The Yankees had eyes on Green entering 2019, but the year was a struggle for the talented right-hander. Green went 3-6 with a 6.67 ERA in 18 games last year between Staten Island and Trenton. Green’s WHIP was 1.70 which can be attributed to weak-contact hits and averaging four walks per nine innings. Green features a fastball with good cutting action, a change up, and a pretty decent curveball. While Green did strike out 63 batters last year, he doesn’t generate a ton of swings and misses. I went back and watched a few of his rougher starts, and it just seemed like the ball had eyes. He gives up a lot of contact, but the guys at the plate always did a good job of getting the ball through even on weak contact. Moving forward, Green’s ability to generate weak contact is definitely a plus, but he has to get better at mixing in pitches that generate misses.
The Yankees plan for Nick Green
Whenever minor league baseball resumes, Green has several things he needs to work on. The Yankees love pitches who induce a lot of ground balls which Green does. The Yankees really need to work with Green on developing those secondary pitches to generate more misses. Green can become a little predictable on the mound throwing his fastball too much. While the movement generates weaker contact, hitters sit on that pitch because it’s his main weapon. His curveball has plus potential, and if he can control it better, his entire pitching game will improve. Like the Yankees, I like ground ball pitchers. Green has the potential to be a really good ground ball pitcher, but he must refine his game, and he has to become more consistent with his secondary pitches. If he can do that, he can move up through the system. It will be interesting to see if the Yankees keep him as a starter or if they try to make the reliever transition.