12. Zack Greinke

Published in Top 50 Kansas City Royals
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General
Awards
Career Stats

Born: October 21, 1983 in Orlando, FL USA
Weight: 200 lbs.
Height: 6'2"
Bats: R
Throws: R
Debut: May 22, 2004
Final Game: October 03, 2021

W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO
208	126	3.48	500	459	1	2,939.0	2689

Zack Greinke overcame a lot of personal adversity on his way from a high First Round pick to Cy Young Award winner. Greinke suffered from severe depression and anxiety and was almost out of Baseball but he persevered to become the ace that pundits knew he could always be.

Greinke broke through in 2008 with a 13 and 10 season with a 3.47 ERA but it was in 2009 where he would out it all together going 16 and 8 with an American League-leading 2.16 ERA. He would also finish first in bWAR for Pitchers, ERA+, FIP, WHIP, and HR/9 while winning the Cy Young. The strength of that season placed him high on this list. Sadly for Kansas City, Greinke would ask for a trade and would continue to have elite seasons in Major League Baseball for other teams, but that would be not be the end of his story in the Midwest.

Greinke returned in 2021, and though he was not a star, he was a solid rotation Pitcher, though he dropped to a 2-15 record in 2023 Season with an ERA over five. That was his last year in Kansas City, as he entered free agency. Overall, as a Royal, Greinke had a record of 66-91 with 1,101 Strikeouts.

The Bullet Points

Position: Pitcher
Acquired: Selected in the 1st Round 6th Overall. 6/4/02.
Departed: Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with Yuniesky Betancourt and Cash for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi. 12/19/10.

Acquired (2): Signed as a Free Agent 3/16/22.
Games Played: 266
Notable Statistics: 66 Wins
91 Losses
3.93 ERA
222 Games Started
12 Complete Games
3 Shutouts
8 Games Finished
1 Save
1,387.1 Innings Pitched
1,101 Strikeouts
3.76 FIP
1.273 WHIP
3.24 SO/BB
29.7 bWAR

1 Run Scored
4 Hits
2 Doubles
0 Triples
1 Home Run
1 Run Batted In
0 Stolen Bases
.167/.167/.375 Slash Line

No Playoff Games
Major Accolades and Awards:
Cy Young Award (2009)
All-Star (2009)
Highest bWAR for Pitchers (2009)
Lowest Earned Run Average (2009)
Lowest WHIP (2009)
Highest ERA+ (2009)
Lowest FIP (2009)
Highest Win Probability Added (2009)