Detroit Tigers: Riley Greene slated to patrol centerfield to start 2022

The Detroit Tigers are inching closer to the start of the 2022 season. The rumblings out of Spring Training point to the idea that the youngsters are going to make the roster out of training camp. Rather than toying around and leaving the team’s future stars in the minors, the signs point to Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson making the big league roster.

The Detroit Tigers are going to let Riley Greene (and Torkelson) get a taste of the big leagues and see what the two players can offer. It seems like he will be playing a lot of centerfield for Greene, patrolling the grass out there at Comerica Park when the time comes.

It’s not his first rodeo out there at Comerica Park, during 2020’s Summer Camp, that came about due to the late start because of the pandemic allowed Greene to get some work in at Comerica Park alongside the team’s big leaguers.

The idea of Greene patrolling centerfield likely has many excited, as it should. Greene is still young enough and durable enough to show out in centerfield, though he’s likely for a future as a corner outfielder. Greene’s debut and first stint(s) in the big leagues are likely to be patrolling center.

Detroit Tigers prospect Riley Greene is slated to patrol center field in 2022.

The Tigers youngster has made many strides in development, and it’s easy to see why Greene deserves a look out in centerfield. He’s got the range and the ability to track balls down out there; some catches he made last summer showed fans a taste of what he could bring to the table, and needless to say, it was exciting.

Flash forward to 2022, and Greene will likely be out there once again. The 21-year-old outfielder may not spend his whole career in centerfield, but it seems that this is where he is going to begin things.

The left-handed swinging first-rounder from the 2019 midsummer draft is likely headed for a corner outfield position. He will continue to grow into a larger frame, pick up some size, and probably develop into someone who can play right-field.

It’s incredibly early to start making assumptions or predictions like this, but a recent tweet from Tigers’ Twitter, Jed (@TigersUK), really got me thinking.

The more and more that I think about it, starting out in centerfield before he bulks up and develops into a power-hitting right-fielder, it just really fits the build and projection of Greene. There’s plenty of time for this to change, but Jed might be onto something here with this tweet.

I’d undoubtedly bookmark it and check back in a few years to see how this one ages because while Greene might start out in centerfield, the Tigers may be looking at Greene progressing into a player like Bryce Harper is.

It’s early, and the scuttle right now points to Greene officially making the team and then his debut, but it’s a start.