South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 61: Haylen Green

Haylen Green

Left-Handed Relief Pitcher
5´11´´
185 pounds
Age: 25
2022 SSS Top Prospect Ranking 51
2022 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -0.4 years
SSS rank among all left-handed relief pitchers in the system 5
2022 stats 3-4 ⚾️ 39 games (8 finished) ⚾️ 1 SV ⚾️ 64 IP ⚾️ 4.50 ERA ⚾️ 1.281 WHIP ⚾️ 62 K ⚾️ 18 BB

Haylen Green, a native of Lufkin, Texas, opted to stay in-state to play college ball for TCU. Primarily used as a reliever, with occasional starts here and there, Green was difficult to touch for Big 12 foes (except for his junior season in 2019, when opponents inexplicably hit .287 against him). He got off to a terrific start in 2020, when in eight games totaling 17 2⁄3 innings he surrendered nary an earned run by inducing just seven hits, five walks and 19 strikeouts. However, the season was cut short due to the pandemic shutdown. Perhaps because he doesn’t have power stuff, and also perhaps because the 2020 MLB draft consisted of only five rounds, Green went unselected.

So, Green returned to Fort Worth as a redshirt senior and basically picked up right where he left off. He saved 12 games in his 25 appearances, and produced a 3.33 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. In 48 2⁄3 innings for the Horned Frogs, he relinquished 43 hits (.234 OBA) and just five free passes (2.6%) while striking out 55 (28.4%). Thanks to his success, he was selected by the Sox in the 20th round of the 2021 draft.

In a combined small sample size with the ACL Sox and Kannapolis in 2021, Green produced a 0.00 ERA and 0.50 WHIP in nine appearances. True to form, he surrendered just six hits (.162 OBA) and no walks while striking out 14 (25.5%). Despite the high strikeouts and low OBA throughout his career, Green’s velocity typically sits in the mid-to-upper 80s. However, he helps himself with excellent control and command, a superb curve and a funky delivery that throws hitters’ timing off.

Perhaps betraying some bad batted-ball luck, Green shows very well when stacked up against his peers, above-average across the board.

Green’s Baseball Cube player ratings
K/BB 81
Walks 79
vs. Power 67
Durability 67
Hittable 67
Strikeouts 61
Team Winning Percentage .502

Sure, Green’s ERA wasn’t overwhelming in 2022, but most of his other peripherals were, which explains why he’s made it all the way to Double-A in his first full pro year, and is almost assured of significant time in Charlotte this summer. In fact, with the loss of Bennett Sousa to the Cincinnati Reds on a waiver claim, a strong argument can be made that Green is the best lefty pen arm in the upper minors.

2023 South Side Sox Top 102 White Sox Prospects

61. Haylen Green, LHRP
62. Mark McLaughlin, RHRP
63. Terrell Tatum, LF
64. Shawn Goosenberg, 2B
65. Randel Mondesí, LF
66. Emerson Talavera, RHRP
67. Declan Cronin, RHRP
68. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
69. Colby Smelley, C
70. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
71. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
72. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
73. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
74. James Beard, CF
75. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
76. Ronny Hernandez, C
77. Troy Claunch, C
78. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
79. Tim Elko, 1B
80. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
81. Trey Jeans, LHRP
82. Jerry Burke, RHSP
83. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
84. Mason Adams, RHSP
85. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
86. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
87. Laz Rivera, 3B
88. Xavier Fernández, C
89. Álvaro Agüero, CF
90. Ben Norman, RF
91. Erick Bello, RHRP
92. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
93. Arnold Prado, RF
94. Alsander Womack, 2B
95. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
96. Evan Skoug, C
97. Noah Owen, RHSP
98. Javier Mora, 2B
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
101. Billy Seidl, RHRP
102. José Rodulfo, RHRP