Pre-draft rankings: 196th on Baseball America, 169th on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

Green was a tooled up high school player in the 2021 draft class who ranked as the No. 112 overall prospect, but made it to campus at NC State. After two seasons with NC State, Green transferred to Georgia Tech for the 2024 season where he put together a career-year and hit .308/.407/.577 with 12 home runs and a 15% strikeout rate that was significantly lower than his 2022 and 2023 seasons. A 6-foot-3, 192-pound right-handed hitter, Green is athletic with lots of raw power, though scouts question his pure hitting ability and approach. While he improved his contact rates this spring, he remains a fairly aggressive hitter who expands the zone and employs a pull-heavy approach with most of his in-game power going to the pull side.

Green projects for average speed especially if he continues to fill out his tall and still lean frame. If and when he does that, he will likely need to move off shortstop and scouts think he’ll be a better fit at third base where his lack of a quick first step and moderate range won’t be as much of an issue. He does have solid-average arm strength and should have the hands to be an average defender at the hot corner.

 

 

 

 

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Payton Green (@payton.green9) • Instagram photos and videos