Grant Green

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Oakland Athletics #8 prospect in 2013
  Green has had no issues at the plate since Oakland signed him for $2.75 million as the 13th overall pick in 2009, batting .302/.348/.461 in the minors. But he has journeyed all over the diamond in a quest to find a defensive home. He started as a shortstop and played five different positions in 2012 before settling on second base. Green is a pure hitter who can recognize and square up a variety of pitches. He has an easy, line-drive stroke and makes hard contact to all fields. The A's looked to get him to drive more balls by widening his stance after the 2011 season, and while that helped, his power still won't be better than average. Green looked more comfortable than he had through his series of position changes. His arm was a question mark at shortstop but is fine at second base, and he has good hands, enough range and solid instincts for turning the double play. He's an average runner. With Cliff Pennington departing in a trade for Chris Young, Green will compete with Jemile Weeks for the A's second-base job in spring training. Oakland added Green to its 40-man roster in November. While he may not have an impact bat, he'll provide enough offense to be a solid regular.
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  Ranked Oakland Athletics #4 prospect in 2012
  Signed for $2.75 million as the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Green has hit .304/.353/.463 as a pro. He won MVP honors at the 2011 Futures Game but the biggest news of his season came a week later, when the A's shifted him from shortstop to center field. Though he had essentially no outfield experience, the move was the quickest way to get his bat to the majors. Green is a natural hitter with a smooth, wristy swing. His power dropped off in 2011, so the A's had him spread out his stance and gave him a firm base when he went to the Arizona Fall League. He responded by hitting five homers and slugging .551 in 26 AFL games. Green had to learn his new position on the fly, though he has the athleticism to handle center field and shows solid range. His average arm was a question mark at shortstop but not an issue in center field. He's working to stretch his arm out to make the longer throws required there. Green got a taste of Triple-A at the end of last season, when he appeared in seven playoff games for Sacramento and hit .296, and he'll be back there to open 2012. While his bat may be his lone plus tool, it will get him to the big leagues. He could crash the Oakland outfield before the end of the season.
• 
  Ranked Oakland Athletics #1 prospect in 2011
  Green's profile as a prospect has taken a 180-degree turn since he came out of Canyon High in Anaheim in 2006. Scouts at the time praised his defensive ability at shortstop but questioned his bat, and he stayed on the board until the Padres took him in the 14th round. He opted to attend Southern California, where he became known as an offensive-minded player who might not stick at shortstop. He hit .390 as a sophomore and .374 as a junior, sandwiched around a .340 performance in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2008. Green ranked as the top prospect on the Cape and drew comparisons to former Long Beach State star Evan Longoria. A slow start and a disappointing home run total (four) in his junior season, combined with his asking price, caused him to slide slightly in the 2009 draft, but the Athletics still made him the 13th overall pick and the first shortstop taken. He signed at the Aug. 17 deadline for $2.75 million. He played five games at high Class A Stockton in August 2009 and returned there last season, ranking second in the California League in hits (174) and fifth in slugging percentage (.520). He delivered an RBI single in the Futures Game in his hometown and joined Double-A Midland for its playoff run. Green's bat has rarely slowed down since he was a college freshman. He has a smooth stroke with outstanding wrist actions. His swing is geared to use the opposite field and he stays inside the ball extremely well, driving balls to right-center field. The A's have worked with him to pull balls with more authority, and he has at least average power that could improve as he learns to incorporate his legs more in his swing. His strikeout totals were a bit high last year, but he still received praise for his feel for hitting and ability to get the barrel through the zone. As he moves up, he'll need to take more pitches and chase fewer out of the strike zone. There are more questions about his defensive future. Tall and lanky, he has average speed but needs to improve his first-step quickness, though his intelligence as a defender and feel for getting in the right positions help compensate. He struggles at times making routine plays and led Cal League shortstops in errors by a fairly wide margin, committing 37 while no one else had more than 27. His range and arm strength are fringy for the position, and even with a quick release he has difficulty getting carry on his throws and making them from deep in the hole. The A's hope his arm can be solid-average with the right footwork. If he has to change positions, he probably has to go to second base because he wouldn't have the arm strength for third base either. Green's bat would have the most value at shortstop, and the A's will certainly give him every chance to stay there. Regardless of where he plays, his bat is what will get him to the major leagues. After getting a taste of Double-A in September, he'll return there to open 2011 and should be on track to get to the majors sometime the following year.
• 
  Ranked Oakland Athletics #3 prospect in 2010
  A top prospect since high school, Green shot up draft boards with an outstanding showing in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2008, hitting .340 on his way to being named the league's top prospect. He struggled early last spring but recovered to bat .374/.435/.569 for Southern California. Oakland landed him with the 13th overall pick and signed him at the Aug. 17 deadline for $2.75 million. Green has a short, compact stroke with a natural feel for hitting and an up-the-middle approach. Lean and athletic, he shows smooth actions and strong instincts at shortstop. He has good range and a solid arm, and his hands work well. He's also a plus runner. The A's laud his competitive makeup and how hard he plays the game. Green's bat isn't as explosive as his Cape showing seemed to indicate. He could project for average power once he develops physically, but he doesn't always maintain a good swing plane. His defense could use refinement, and scouts outside the organization weren't sold that he'd be more than an average defender at shortstop. Green has the offensive upside and playmaking ability to be an all-star shortstop, perhaps a lesser version of Troy Tulowitzki. He'll begin his first full pro season at high Class A Stockton, where he made his brief debut, and easily could reach Double-A Midland by the end of the year.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Texas League #11 prospect in 2011
  Green continued his steady progress toward Oakland with a solid year, finishing second in the league with 154 hits. The biggest moment of his season came in mid-July, when he made the move from shortstop to center field. He made three errors while learning the position but generally acquitted himself well. Green lacks a true standout tool, but he's a well-rounded offensive player with a quick bat, good hitting skills and a solid approach at the plate. He's aggressive and will hit his share of doubles but won't have much over-the-fence power, so he'll need to cut down on his strikeouts and get on base more. Most scouts believe Green is athletic enough to handle center field, though they note that he seems to put more energy into his work at the plate than he does in the field. He was an adequate shortstop and some think he could handle second base as well; the Athletics appear set there with Jemile Weeks. Green has solid-average speed and an average arm.
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  Ranked California League #3 prospect in 2010
  Living up to his billing as one of the top hitters in the 2009 draft, Green jumped to high Class A for his first full pro season and hit .318 with 20 homers. He has a compact stroke and consistently gets the fat part of the bat on the ball, giving him at least average power. He may not hit for a high average, however, because he doesn't let many pitches go by and chases balls out of the strike zone. Scouts question his defensive ability, as Green is erratic at times on routine plays, his range is no better than average and he lacks the arm strength to make throws from deep in the hole. He's an average runner.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #63 prospect in 2011
• Ranked Baseball America's #52 prospect in 2010

• December, 2012 Scouting Report
  Background: Green has had no issues at the plate since Oakland signed him for $2.75 million as the 13th overall pick in 2009, batting .302/.348/.461 in the minors. But he has journeyed all over the diamond in a quest to find a defensive home. He started as a shortstop, moved to center field in mid-2011 and played five different positions in 2012 before settling on second base. Scouting Report: Green is a pure hitter who can recognize and square up a variety of pitches. He has an easy, line-drive stroke and makes hard contact to all fields. The A's looked to get him to drive more balls by widening his stance after the 2011 season, and while that helped, his power still won't be better than average. Moving back to the middle of the infield, Green looked more comfortable than he had through his series of position changes. His arm was a question mark at shortstop but is fine at second base, and he has good hands, enough range and solid instincts for turning the double play. He's an average runner. The Future: With Cliff Pennington departing in a trade for Chris Young, Green will compete with Jemile Weeks for the A's second-base job in spring training. Oakland added Green to its 40-man roster in November. While he may not have an impact bat, he'll provide enough offense to be a solid regular.
• December, 2011 Scouting Report
  Background: Signed for $2.75 million as the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Green has hit .304/.353/.463 as a pro and recovered from a slow start last year. He won MVP honors at the 2011 Futures Game but the biggest news of his season came a week later, when the A's shifted him from shortstop to center field. Though he had essentially no outfield experience, the move was the quickest way to get his bat to the majors.Scouting Report: Green is a natural hitter with a smooth, wristy swing. His power dropped off in 2011, so the A's had him spread out his stance and gave him a firm base when he went to the Arizona Fall League. He responded by hitting five homers and slugging .551 in 26 AFL games. Green had to learn his new position on the fly, though he has the athleticism to handle center field and shows solid range. His average arm was a question mark at shortstop but not an issue in center field. He's working to stretch his arm out to make the longer throws required there.The Future: Green got a taste of Triple-A at the end of last season, when he appeared in seven playoff games for Sacramento and hit .296, and he'll be back there to open 2012. While his bat may be his lone plus tool, it will get him to the big leagues. He could crash the Oakland outfield before the end of the season.