Even in first pro season, Greene shows potential

At first glance, Williamsport Crosscutters outfielder Larry Greene doesn't exactly look fleet of foot. When the Phillies selected the 6-foot, 235-pound Greene with their first pick in the 2011 draft, the baseball draftniks gushed over his power, but hinted that he might have to move to first base.

Sounds like your typical immobile power hitter, right? But so far, as he approaches the conclusion of his first season in pro ball, Greene has made that evaluation look pretty off base or at the very least, premature.

"I am kind of quick for a big guy," Greene said. "I try to use my speed, too, when I am on the bases. I can catch people by surprise."

While Greene won't be winning a stolen base title anytime soon - he had one steal in 50 games - he has started to turn heads with his play in the outfield at low Class A Williamsport and has made a believer out of the Phillies.

"Defensively, he has exceeded all of our expectations," said Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development.

"I really don't have any questions at all. If what we've seen from a progress standpoint this year is any indication of the type of outfielder he is going to be, he will be plenty good enough to stay."

The Phillies undoubtedly viewed Greene's raw power as his most attractive feature when they took him with the 39th overall pick last year, but they also thought they were getting a pretty good athlete. It looks as if they were right.

Greene played centerfield for his high school in Georgia. He also played football and basketball and was recruited by Nick Saban to play linebacker at Alabama. To say the least, the Crimson Tide didn't seem to have too many slow-footed linebackers on last year's national championship squad.

But ultimately, if Greene plans to wear Phillies pinstripes in the future, it will be his bat that gets him there. Greene has had a solid pro debut, hitting .250 with two home runs and 21 RBI over 188 at-bats as a Crosscutter.

But numbers mean little when it comes to 19-year-old prospects. What is most important is that Jordan says the tools they saw in Greene when they drafted him are still there. At this point, it is just about honing them.

"Our whole focus right now is making him the best hitter he can be," Jordan said. "Because if he can be a hitter, he will get his home runs. He has tremendous raw power."

Like many first-year minor leaguers, Greene entered spring training unsure of what it takes to be a professional. According to Jordan, he did not arrive "ready to compete physically." But once Greene became acclimated to his surroundings, his progress became evident.

"It was a real big jump," Greene said, referring to his transition from high school to pro ball. "But I think I am starting to adjust to it real good. I am seeing a lot of offspeed stuff, even in hitter's counts."

Greene grew frustrated early on, but found success in the notion of sticking to the basics. Talk hitting with the big lefty, and he mentions "staying up the middle" in nearly every sentence. According to Jordan, the evidence of progress from Greene is what is most exciting.

"I really believe this summer has gone very well," Jordan said. "He is a much better player and hitter than he was 3 or 4 months ago."

The Crosscutters' season ends in early September, and Greene will stay in Florida for instructional ball shortly after. He is firmly entrenched in leftfield for the foreseeable future, and if the thunder in his bat is as potent as the Phillies believe, Jordan thinks it is only a matter of time before he explodes.

"His bat and his game are going to take off at some point," he said. "I don't have a set timeline, but this kid has a chance to be a heck of a player."

Contact Alex Lee at leea@phillynews.com.