2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #45 Bo Greenwell

Bo Greenwell – Outfielder
Born: 10/15/1988 – Height: 6’0” – Weight: 185 – Bats: Left – Throws: Left

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Greenwell was taken by the Indians in the 6th round of the 2007 Draft out of Riverdale High School (FL).  Had he not signed with the Indians he had a scholarship to play baseball for the University of Miami, FL. He was a very good football player in high school where he played quarterback and safety, but he tore his ACL going into his senior season which significantly hurt his chances at a Division-1 college football scholarship. He is the son of former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell. Last year he had an amazing month of April where in 21 games at Low-A Lake County he hit a blistering .405 (32-for-79) with 22 runs scored, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 23 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and had a 1.142 OPS.

Strengths: Greenwell is a high energy player who showcases a lot of tools and ability in various facets of the game. He has made a ton of adjustments with his setup and his approach since he signed with the Indians, and it all really started to come together for him last year. He shows good strike zone discipline, good hands and uses the whole field well. While he has just average power potential the ball jumps off his bat and he has good gap power. He has very good speed and athleticism, and the Indians believe he can be a good base-stealer.

Last offseason Greenwell concentrated on his conditioning and lifting weights to improve his strength and agility, and he adjusted well to seeing a lot more breaking balls and off-speed stuff. The biggest change for him last year was that he started to believe in his abilities more and became much more confident at the plate, which are signs that he is starting to mature not only physically but mentally as well. He had a shoulder injury in 2008, but has otherwise proven to be very durable. He plays hard, is very confident, is a competitor, and learns well from his mistakes, which is something which was obviously instilled in him at a young age by his father.

Greenwell was a first baseman in high school, but upon signing with the Indians he was immediately moved to the outfield. He is still inexperienced and fine tuning his play in the outfield, but he has steadily improved the past few seasons and last season showed a lot of strides with his route running and throwing arm. He used to short-hand the ball and rush to where he is now able to slow everything down and make strong accurate throws. He has become a solid outfielder with room to be more, and is versatile where he can play all three positions. His strong season offensively prompted the Indians to make a move late last year to slide him over from his more customary left field position to center field. Prior to the move he had only played a handful of games in center field, playing there mostly with the rookie level Gulf Coast League team in 2007 and is where he would have played had he gone to school at the University of Miami, FL. After he gained about 20 pounds of muscle going into the 2008 season the Indians decided to develop him more as a corner outfielder so abandoned playing him in center field, but because he profiles better in center and lacks the bat to be a corner outfielder they moved him back to center field. With his sound approach, a knack for getting on base, and plus speed he fits better offensively in center field.

Opportunities: Greenwell spent a lot of time in high school working on football, so he came into the organization very raw. As a result, he has spent the better past of his three-plus year career developing his baseball skills, adapting to the professional game, and maturing. While his game took several positive steps last year, he will continue to develop and refine his hitting skills. He still needs more work using his body to get better leverage and keeping his hands through the ball when he swings so that he can hit with more authority. He is still adapting to playing center field everyday where he needs to pick up a lot of the nuances to the position like tendencies of the hitters, positioning, reading the ball off the bat to get quicker jumps, backing up outfielders, route running, and improving the accuracy of his throws.

Outlook: Greenwell's development is encouraging, and is a byproduct of him maturing and also a lot of hard work last offseason. He has made tremendous adjustments in his swing ability and setup since joining the organization, and it all started to come together last year. He just knows what kind of player he is and does not try to do too much, and on top of that has an impressive aptitude and unbelievable makeup. He brings a lot of raw ability with a good speed-power combo and an advanced approach at the plate for a player his age. For him to have a chance as an everyday player he will need to develop as a center fielder, and if he does not then he will probably become more of a Trevor Crowe kind of player who is a backup outfielder who is versatile, runs well, and has some pop in his bat. He should open the 2011 season at High-A Kinston, but has a good chance to finish the season at Double-A Akron.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	18	GCL Indians	R	37	144	12	31	5	0	0	8	16	24	5	.215	.298	.250	.548
2008	19	GCL Indians	R	46	160	18	42	8	3	2	14	23	17	4	.263	.359	.388	.747
2009	20	Mahoning Valley	A-	7	26	5	9	2	0	0	4	2	2	2	.346	.393	.423	.816
2009	20	Lake County	A	60	214	29	62	16	1	2	26	21	23	7	.290	.359	.402	.761
2010	21	Lake County	A	66	248	47	77	13	2	4	36	32	34	15	.310	.395	.427	.822
2010	21	Kinston	A+	65	240	31	70	9	1	2	21	25	51	10	.292	.364	.363	.727
		MiLB Totals		281	1032	142	291	53	7	10	109	119	151	43	.282	.361	.376	.737

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