Tigers select two players on first day of 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft
LAKELAND – The Detroit Tigers selected outfielder Riley Greene from Hagerty High School (FL) and third baseman Nick Quintana from the University of Arizona in the first and second round, respectively, of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Greene is an 18-year-old native of Oviedo, Florida, and measures in at 6-3, 200-pounds. He was recently named the Gatorade Florida Baseball Player of the Year, and was a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year.
“We’re very excited to select Riley with our first pick in this year’s draft,” said Scott Pleis, Tigers Director of Amateur Scouting. “He’s a dynamic outfielder with a large frame and loose swing from the left side, and really knows how to find the sweet spot in a repeatable way. He’s got what we call the ‘hit gene’ and matches his performance in the batters box with highlight-reel plays in the outfield on a regular basis. All of us in the Tigers Amateur Scouting Department are eager to see Riley reach his potential as he grows in our organization over the coming years.”
Prior to his senior season, Greene was named a preseason first team All-American by Rawlings-Perfect Game. As a sophomore and junior, Rawlings-Perfect Game named him a first team preseason underclassman All-American, and a high honorable mention preseason underclassman All-American as a freshman.
“Our goal coming into every draft is to take the best player on the board with all of our picks, and we’re certainly happy that a player with so much offensive potential was available for us with the fifth selection,” said Al Avila, Tigers Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager. “We’re looking forward to Riley joining our growing group of young position players that are moving quickly in our system during their development towards the Major Leagues.”
In 2018, Greene started all nine games for USA Baseball’s 18U National Team at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships, batting .424/.548/.848 and leading the team with three home runs and 20 RBI.
The Tigers then selected Quintana with the 47th pick in the draft.
The Las Vegas, Nevada native was a standout in the PAC-12, leading the conference with 77 RBI and ranking tied for third with 18 doubles, fifth with 65 runs, tied for sixth with 76 hits, 45 walks and 139 total bases, tied for seventh with 15 home runs, eighth with a .626 slugging percentage and ninth with a .462 on-base percentage. Per the organization’s last update, Quintana’s RBI total ranked fifth across all of the NCAA.
“Nick’s profile as a power-hitting infielder is something we really think is going to play well during his transition to professional baseball,” Pleis said. “He’s a quality defender and can really handle the bat, and we project he’s going to be a ballplayer that Tigers fans will enjoy watching play for quite some time.”
Quintana was named first-team All-PAC-12 following his 2018 campaign, posting 14 home runs and 55 RBI over 56 games, while batting .313/.413/.592. Collegiate Baseball named him a freshman All-American in 2017, after he posted a .293 (61x208) average with the Wildcats, knocking six home runs and driving in 38. His 17 doubles that season were the most by an Arizona freshman since Jett Bandy had 21 in 2010.
The 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft continues on June 4 at 1:05 p.m. with rounds 3-10, followed by rounds 11-40 on Wednesday (June 5) beginning at 12:05 p.m.