Conner Greene

James Conner Greene (born April 4, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted him in the seventh round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Conner Greene
Greene with the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2015
Kansas City Royals – No. 62
Pitcher
Born: (1995-04-04) April 4, 1995
Santa Monica, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Professional career

Greene attended Santa Monica High School, where he posted a 1.63 earned run average (ERA) and 76 strikeouts in his senior year,[1] and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the seventh round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.[2][3] He had committed to play baseball at the College of Southern Nevada, but he chose to sign with the Blue Jays for $100,000 rather than attend.[4] He was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays for the 2013 season, and pitched to a 1–1 record, 5.28 ERA, and 20 strikeouts in 30​2⁄3 innings.[2] Greene split the 2014 season with the GCL Blue Jays and the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays, and posted a 3–4 record, 3.03 ERA, and 51 strikeouts in 59​1⁄3 innings pitched.[2]

Greene began the 2015 season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts, where he posted a 7–3 win–loss record, 3.88 ERA, and 65 strikeouts in 67​1⁄3 innings, before being promoted to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays.[2] He debuted for Dunedin on July 4 and took the loss, allowing four runs on nine hits.[5] On August 6, Greene set a career-high in strikeouts, with 10, while pitching seven shutout innings for Dunedin.[6] He was then promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and took the win in his debut on August 13, pitching six shutout innings against the Akron RubberDucks.[7] Greene made 26 starts in the 2015 season, posting a combined 12–7 record, 3.54 ERA, and 115 strikeouts in 132​1⁄3 innings.[2]

Greene was invited to Major League spring training on January 12, 2016,[8] and reassigned to minor league camp on March 10.[9] Greene was assigned to the Dunedin Blue Jays to open the 2016 minor league season.[10] He was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire in early July, and pitched his first career complete game and shutout on July 26, defeating the Harrisburg Senators 1–0.[11] Greene made 27 total starts in 2016, and pitched to a 10–9 record, 3.51 ERA, and 99 strikeouts in a career-high 146​1⁄3 innings.[2] After the 2016 season, the Blue Jays assigned Greene to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League.[12] He made four starts for Mesa and struggled with his control, walking 11 batters in 10 total innings.[13] Greene spent all of 2017 with New Hampshire. In 132​2⁄3 innings (26 games with 25 being starts), Greene went 5–10 with a 5.29 ERA and 92 strikeouts. He continued to struggle with his command, issuing 83 walks.[2] On November 20, 2017, Greene was added to Toronto's 40-man roster.[14]

On January 19, 2018, the Blue Jays traded Greene (along with Dominic Leone) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Randal Grichuk.[15] He began the 2018 season with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals and was promoted to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in June.[16] In forty games (ten starts) between the two clubs, he pitched to a 4-5 record with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.[17] After the season, the Cardinals assigned him to the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.[18]

The Cardinals designated Greene for assignment on November 20, 2018.[19] On November 26 he was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals.[20] He was designated for assignment on November 20, 2019.[21]

Personal life

Greene is an avid surfer, and has also worked as a model. He is friends with actor Charlie Sheen, and made several minor appearances on the television series Anger Management.[22]

References
  1. Capobianco, Tony (March 30, 2014). "Samohi's Conner Greene destined for stardom". smdp.com. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  2. "Conner Greene Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  3. Peaslee, Evan (June 7, 2013). "Blue Jays take high school arm Greene in Round 7". MLB.com. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  4. "Conner Greene". Future Blue Jays. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  5. Kelner, Marshall (July 4, 2015). "D-Jays Fall Behind Early in 6-2 Loss". milb.com. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  6. Kelner, Marshall (August 6, 2015). "Greene Dominates Tortugas, D-Jays Avoid Sweep". milb.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  7. "Greene Beats Akron in Impressive Debut". milb.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  8. "Blue Jays Invite 14 to Spring Training". bluebirdbanter.com. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  9. Chisholm, Gregor (March 10, 2016). "Touted Greene part of second round of cuts". MLB.com. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. Rosenbaum, Mike (April 7, 2016). "Where the Blue Jays' Top 30 prospects are starting the season". MLB.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  11. Leboff, Michael (July 26, 2016). "Greene hurls first shutout for Fisher Cats". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  12. "2016 Arizona Fall League Rosters". baseballamerica.com. August 31, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  13. "Winter Leagues: Arizona Fall League: Statistics". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  14. Davidi, Shi (November 20, 2017). "Jansen, Tellez among players added to Blue Jays' 40-man roster". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  15. Hummel, Rick (January 19, 2018). "Cardinals trade Grichuk to Toronto for two young pitchers". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  16. http://cardinalsbestnews.blogspot.com/2018/06/cardinals-optioned-carson-kelly-to.html
  17. "Conner Greene Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  18. https://kmox.radio.com/articles/st-louis-cardinals-prospect-arizona-fall-league
  19. https://www.kmov.com/sports/cardinals-add-four-to--man-roster/article_cffb3d44-ecf4-11e8-9088-879b264da912.html
  20. "Royals Claim Conner Greene, Designate Burch Smith For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumours. November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  21. "Royals add four players to 40-man roster; Bonifacio, Dini among four DFA'd". Fox Sports Kansas City. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  22. MacLeod, Robert (March 6, 2016). "Gibbons impressed with Jays' pitching prospect, 'goofball' Conner Greene". theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
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