With the 39th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, the Phillies have selected first baseman Larry Greene, a high school player from Berrien County, Georgia. Greene is known for one thing, power. Many scouts see Greene as the best power hitting high school bat in the entire draft. The general consensus seems to be that he’s a long way off, but if he develops the way a team hopes, his upside could be, according to ESPN, Ryan Howard. At 6-1, 230 pounds, he certainly looks the part.
He played outfield in high school, but there is a belief that he could move to first base thanks to a lack of speed.
But it will be several years before know anything like that. In the meantime, here’s a roundup of scouting reports and reactions to the pick.
Green dealt with a lot of off-field adversity with the passing of his mother this year. His power is off the charts and could be one of the best high school bats in the draft.
Green has the most present raw power of any high school bat in this class, and that alone should see him drafted in the top two to three rounds, even though it’s his only average tool.
He has one kind of swing, and it’s furious, generating power both with bat speed and hip rotation, with big juice that earns him comparisons to another African-American left-handed power hitter, Ryan Howard. He also swings and misses a ton and doesn’t have much experience facing good pitching. He doesn’t throw well and is a below-average runner with short strides, so he’s probably headed for first base.
Follow our full 2011 Phillies draft stream with scouting reports and reactions to all the Phillies top picks.