5. Chad Green
Green may have only given up one run in 5.2 innings of work so far (1.59 ERA), but there are some signs that support his ranking in this week’s power ranking.
First off, the 25-year-old has walked five batters and has only struck out three. In his latest outing against the Philadelphia Phillies, Green didn’t allow a run but walked three while tossing 38 pitches (only 22 of them for strikes).
The command is something we were looking for Green to cut down on, as his 3.0 BB/9 rate during his brief cameo in 2016 led to a home run rate of 2.4. While he’s kept the ball in the ballpark this spring, he owns the highest batting average against (.286) among the five candidates. He also doesn’t have the upside that Cessa has, which also knocks him down a peg.
