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Green upped his walk rate in May, an indication the 19-year-old is beginning to develop better strike zone judgement, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
The 2022 first-round pick has had a rough start to his first full season as a pro, slashing .240/.358/.357 through his first 47 games at Single-A Fredericksburg with a brutal 41.2 percent strikeout rate, but after drawing only eight walks in 17 games in April (10.4 percent), Green has earned 23 free passes in 29 games since the beginning of May (18.7 percent). "It's about the swing decisions and managing the strike zone, and he's going through a serious master class of it right now," Nationals director of player development De Jon Watson said this week. "It's the first time in his young career that he's seen this much off-speed, and they're not going to stop. They're going to continue to entice him to chase and get him to expand the zone." Green has been able to flash his plus athleticism in other ways, playing strong defense in center field and stealing 19 bases on 22 attempts, but his pitch recognition will need to start catching up to his tools before he'll be considered a truly elite prospect.
