Why this has been an even better than obvious hot start for the much-improved Riley Greene

The Tigers left fielder's strikeouts are down, he's swinging at better pitches -- and doing more with those swings, as a fascinating look inside the data reveals.

Riley Greene took a long look at his 2025 numbers — and decided changes were in order. What a spring he is putting together. (Photo by Jeffrey Hyde)

Riley Greene’s numbers are up across the board in 2026, thanks in part to one stat that’s way down: his chase-rate.

Since arriving with the Tigers in 2022, Greene’s weighted wRC+ (runs created-plus) of 121 ranks 49th among 317 qualified MLB hitters. That includes a matching 121 wRC+ last season, when the Tigers left-fielder tied for 10th in MLB with 36 homers.

Greene’s knack for finding the bat’s barrel has been evident since the day he was drafted in 2019, fifth overall, and, as with his homer totals, his barrel rate has increased every year in the big leagues: from 9.3% in 2022 (60th percentile), to 11.3% in ‘23 (74^th percentile), to 13.4% in ‘24 (90^th percentile), all the way up to 17.1% in ‘25 (95th).

Until last season, his chase-rate followed a similar trajectory, going from the 61st percentile (27.6% chase) in ‘22 to 86th (23.1% chase) in ‘24. That made all the more puzzling an 8% jump last year in chase (he slipped to 29th percentile, meaning, obviously, that 71% of MLB hitters were better at avoiding swings at bad pitches ). It helped explain a career-high (and much-lamented) 30.7% strikeout rate.