‘Beautiful moment’: Greene makes Reds’ rotation

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The tears started flowing when Hunter Greene called his parents.

Five years after Sports Illustrated called him “the star baseball needs,” four-and-a-half years after Greene was the No. 2 pick in the 2017 MLB draft, three years after he underwent Tommy

John surgery, he reached his dream and was headed to the major leagues.

The Cincinnati Reds announced their rotation for the first five games of the season. Tyler Mahle, Reiver Sanmartin, Vladimir Gutierrez and Greene, in that order, will start in the Reds’ opening series in Atlanta, which begins Thursday.

“I didn’t cry when David (Bell) told me, but I did cry when I called my parents,” said Greene, who is scheduled to make his MLB debut on April 10. “Very special moment. A lot of hard work put in. A lot of sacrifices. I cried when I called them and they cried. My pops called me this morning and he’s still crying. Just a beautiful moment to share as a family.”

Greene, a 22-year-old right-hander, had a 10-8 record and a 3.30 ERA in 21 starts at Double-a and Triple-a last season. He struck out 139 and walked 39 in 106 1/3 innings. He possesses a fastball that regularly sits at 100 mph, making him one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball, and he’s developed a strong slider and changeup. He likes to remain even keeled, he said, so he didn’t have any expectations when he walked into Bell’s office. Bell went straight to the news, “You made the team.”

There have always been high expectations on Greene. His first start will come against the defending champions and his second start is in Los Angeles, his hometown, to face the Dodgers.