1 week Ago By Lansing State Journal
As a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Rodney Green Jr. has attended plenty of Athletics' games.Green is now excited about the opportunity to potentially one day make it to the majors suiting up for the Athletics' franchise he watched over the years from the stands at Oakland Coliseum.
The 21-year-old outfielder, who is in the infant stages of his first full season as a professional in the Athletics' minor league system, displayed his power potential Tuesday by hitting a pair of home runs for the Lansing Lugnuts in their 10-5 loss to the Great Lakes Loons in their home opener at Jackson Field.The homers marked the first two hits of the season for Green, who was hitless in his first 13 at-bats before connecting for a solo shot to right-center field in the third inning."It was definitely pretty cool," said the left-handed hitting Green, who is rated the Athletics' No.
20 prospect by MLB Pipeline. "I thought it was pretty cool to hit my first as a homer this year. It definitely felt good for sure.
"Green, who was a fourth-round draft pick out of the University of California last July after finishing eighth in program history with 34 career home runs during his three seasons, also hit a solo home run in the eighth inning that landed on Larch St. beyond right field..
oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}Those home runs marked the first two hit by the Lugnuts (1-3) this season. Green hopes those hits get him going as he looks to be a factor at the top of the lineup for the Lugnuts and build on a pro debut where he batted .289 with three homers and 21 RBI in a 24-game stint with the Low-A Stockton Ports last season.
"Obviously the biggest thing is to get on base and take pictures and give my teammates feedback and stuff like that," Green said. "As long as I can continue seeing a lot of pitches and putting balls in play and trying to get on base and using my speed and stuff like that — it will pay off for sure."More importantly for Green is just being on the field playing baseball and continuing his growth as a player.
"I just want to play ball," Green said. "That's the biggest thing for me — it's just get out there and play and have fun. Whatever happens, happens.
"Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Rodney Green Jr. shows power potential for Lansing Lugnuts.
