WASHINGTON -- Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Hunter Greene has been shut down with an elbow injury.
The Reds said Friday afternoon that Greene has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm and will not pitch again this season. Instead, he's expected to report to the team's facility in Goodyear, Arizona, for strengthening in hopes of avoiding surgery.
"Right now, it's rehab," said Cincinnati general manager Nick Krall. "It's not surgical at this point. We're going to evaluate it as we move through the offseason, and go from there."
The Reds have had recent success in avoiding surgery with other pitchers who've sustained the same injury. Right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Anthony DeSclafani both suffered sprained UCLs and were able to return without undergoing surgery.
A two-way sensation out of Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California), Greene was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft. He received a $7.2 million signing bonus that was the largest ever for a draftee.
Greene was ranked No. 13 among baseball's top 50 prospects by ESPN's Keith Law. Greene began the season ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Reds' system and No. 22 prospect overall. In 18 starts this season with Class A Dayton, the hard-throwing 18-year old was 3-7 with a 4.48 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings.