Bo Greenwell, of the Lake County Captains and son of former Boston Red Sox slugger Mike Greenwell, was one of the hottest hitters in all of pro baseball early this season, and the Indians are taking notice.
The major-league pedigree that helps Lake County outfielder Bo Greenwell isn't the only reason he's a rising prospect in the Indians' farm system. The son of former Boston outfielder Mike Greenwell has been hitting over .300 all season. "From what I know and what people tell me, I'm the spitting image of my father and I take great pride in that," Greenwell said.EASTLAKE, Ohio -- The father was also 21, in his third season, when whatever it is that turns baseball prospects into players kicked in.
In 1985, Mike Greenwell, ripping the ball as if it just insulted his mom, leapt from Class A to AAA, then to the Boston Red Sox late that season. By the time he was through in 1996, the Red Sox left-fielder was a two-time All Star, finished with a career .303 batting average and once finished second in the American League MVP voting.
Now the son is following that script. Same age. Same position. Same angry left-handed swing.
There's lots of ground to cover between Bo Greenwell and a Mike Greenwellian career, but so far this season, the Indians' minor leaguer with the major-league pedigree is playing as if whatever is supposed to click, is clicking.
"I felt like I had something to prove," he said, "that I wasn't just another guy."
Through the first half of the season, Greenwell, who usually bats second for the Tribe's Class A affiliate in Eastlake, definitely hasn't been just another guy in a pinstriped Lake County Captains uniform.
In April, the Indians' sixth-round choice of the 2007 draft ripped the Midwest League apart, hitting .405. During the season's first month, he ran up a nine-game hitting streak and drove in five runs in a game twice within a week.
Greenwell has just eight minor-league home runs over four seasons in the Indians' farm system, but is hitting .300 over his last two seasons with a .385 on-base percentage.BO GREENWELL FILE
Age: 21.
Hometown: Alva, Fla.; near Fort Myers.
Height/weight: 6-0, 185.
Bats/throws: left.
Position: Left field for the Lake County Captains, the Indians’ Class A affiliate in Eastlake.
Fun fact: The son of former Boston slugger Mike Greenwell was a standout left-handed high school quarterback. Once, after tearing ligaments in his left knee on a game’s third play, he finished out the game, throwing for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Quotable: (on whether the majors are in his future) “Absolutely. Who doesn’t? If you’re not a firm believer that you can play in the big leagues then you just need to hang ’em up now.”
-- Bill Lubinger
Greenwell, hitting .307 with four homers and 36 RBI entering Sunday, has looked more human since, hitting .267 in May and hovering around .250 in June as teams, facing him for the second or third time this season, have learned to either pitch around him or limit his dose of fastballs.
"You become a mistake hitter," Greenwell said of the adjustment he's learning to make at the plate. "You hit the mistakes. You wait for that hanging slider. You wait for them to throw that fastball that's a little up and over the plate."
The 21-year-old split the 2009 season with the Indians' short-season Class A team in Mahoning Valley and Lake County, hitting .290 in 60 games with the Captains. This season, he's been among the league batting leaders since Day One and was one of five Captains named to the league's all-star game.
With such a hot start, he's made himself difficult for the Indians development staff to ignore.
"To be honest, I was starting to wonder," Mike Greenwell said by phone from Alva, Fla., where he grows strawberries and vegetables and raises cattle on his 260-acre farm. "They moved him along very slow. They seemed to be taking care of him, but now there's no doubt that he's bounced on the scene as a prospect."
The parent club seems to be as impressed with his work ethic as his production.
"He's one of the most-liked players by our player development staff because he consistently plays hard, consistently overachievers and has continued to answer the bell," said Ross Atkins, the Indians' director of player development.
Greenwell is gaining notice within the organization for his discipline at the plate and ability to consistently hit the ball hard.
"That's his defining tool," Atkins said.
Hmmm. Sounds familiar.
Mike Greenwell, who visited Eastlake for three games earlier this season but mostly listens to Captains radio broadcasts online, remains a Red Sox fan favorite for his menacing approach at the plate.
Three times in his 12-year career he finished among the top 10 in American League batting average. In 1988, just his second season playing full-time in the majors, he batted .325 with 22 home runs and 119 RBI, finishing second in the MVP voting to Oakland's Jose Canseco.
"From what I know and what people tell me, I'm the spitting image of my father and I take great pride in that," Bo Greenwell said before a recent game. "He played the game hard, played the game the right way and was fearless when he was on the field. And when he walked up to the plate he owned it. And from what I hear I do the same thing, I play the same way."
At 6-0, 185 pounds, the son is about the same build as his father, but faster. As a corner outfielder, a position usually counted on for home runs, the Indians are looking for that speed to make up for unproven power.
Greenwell, among the league leaders in runs scored, will have to be the best runner on the team, Atkins said, not just stealing bases, but knowing when to be aggressive on the base paths, being the best at breaking up double plays and, in the outfield, getting good jumps and taking good angles on batted balls.
Captains manager Ted Kubiak, who won three World Series rings as an Oakland infielder, said Greenwell's improvement in the field has been measurable. Not as easily judged, but as impressive, Kubiak said, are the player's intangibles.
"The way he deals with things. The answers that he can give me. The way he knows he's got to bust his tail. He's positive as hell," Kubiak said. "His dad's instilled that in him."
Greenwell was nine when his father retired from baseball. But he remembers Mo Vaughn, Roger Clemens and others milling around the Red Sox locker room -- not that he was awed by it.
"Did I go up and talk to them want to know about their whole life's story? No, I mean I was nine years old," he said. "I was more excited about getting that cherry Coke from the clubhouse."