Nationals' Elijah Green: Activated off minor-league IL
Rotowire
Green (wrist) was activated from the minor-league injured list Tuesday at Single-A Fredericksburg, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Green wound up missing around seven weeks because of a wrist injury. Selected by the Nationals with the fifth overall pick in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the 19-year-old outfielder had slashed .218/.327/.318 with three homers and 22 steals in 58 games this season for Fredericksburg prior to the IL stint.
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Nationals' Elijah Green: Ready for rehab assignment
Rotowire
Green (wrist) was sent to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Monday to begin a rehab assignment.
Green has been out since June 28 due to a wrist injury and remains on Single-A Fredericksburg's 7-day injured list, but he may only need a handful of games in the FCL before he's deemed ready for activation. The 19-year-old outfielder was hitting .220 with a 13.7 percent walk rate and 43.4 percent strikeout rate in 251 plate appearances for Fredericksburg prior to being shut down.
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Nationals' Elijah Green: Placed on minor-league IL
Rotowire
Green (wrist) was placed on the 7-day injured list Tuesday at Single-A Fredericksburg, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Green hasn't appeared in a minor-league game since late June due to a nagging wrist injury that will now officially sideline him at least a little while longer. The 19-year-old outfielder was the fifth overall selection in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, but he's slashed just .218/.327/.318 across 248 plate appearances when healthy this year in Low-A ball.
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.
Green is hitting .262 with zero home runs, seven steals and a 25:6 K:BB in 11 games with Single-A Fredericksburg.
Since entering pro ball, Green has a 45.5 percent strikeout rate and an 11.9 percent walk rate. Few prospects can match Green's physical tools, but the hit tool was the one concern entering last year's draft, and he hasn't done anything to lessen those concerns through 101 pro plate appearances.
Nationals' Elijah Green: Flashes promise in pro debut
Rotowire
Green got into 12 games for the Nationals' rookie-level Florida Coast League affiliate this season, slashing .302/.404/.535 with two homers and a 6:21 BB:K.
The fifth overall pick in this year's draft, Green got to make his pro debut at the close of the FCL season and hit the ball hard but also put up a a 40.3 percent strikeout rate. Already big and strong at the age of 18, Green is built like an NFL linebacker -- or Mike Trout. He's not expected to develop anything resembling Trout's hit tool, but Green has plenty of power and speed for fantasy managers (and Nationals fans) to dream on.
