Tyler Jackson Gentry (born February 1, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
| Tyler Gentry | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Gentry with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2024 | |
| Kansas City Royals – No. 27 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: February 1, 1999 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 25, 2024, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics (through August 30, 2024) | |
| Batting average | .000 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 0 |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
editGentry attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Tennessee, where he played baseball. As a junior in 2016, he batted .341 with 33 RBIs.[1] As a senior in 2017, he earned all-state honors.[2][1] He went unselected in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, and enrolled at Walters State Community College where he played one season of college baseball.
During Gentry's first and only season at Walters State in 2018, he batted .379 with 18 home runs over 64 games.[3] Following the season's end, he transferred to the University of Alabama where he played for the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team.[4] Over 56 games in 2019 with the Crimson Tide, Gentry hit .310 with a team-high 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, and 37 runs scored.[5][6] That summer, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Brewster Whitecaps where he was named a league all-star.[7][8][9] During his junior season in 2020, he batted .429 over 17 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professional career
editGentry was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the third round with the 76th overall selection of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[10] He signed for $750,000.[11] Gentry did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] Gentry made his professional debut in 2021 with the High–A Quad Cities River Bandits.[13] His season ended in mid-July due to knee injuries.[14] Over 44 games prior to the injury, he batted .259 with six home runs and 28 RBI. Gentry opened the 2022 season with Quad Cities and was promoted to the Double–A Northwest Arkansas Naturals in early June.[15][16][17] Over 108 games between the two teams, he slashed .326/.422/.542 with 21 home runs, 86 RBI, 22 doubles, and 10 stolen bases.[18] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros after the season.[19] Gentry was assigned to the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Triple–A International League for the 2023 season.[20] Over 129 games, he batted .253 with 16 home runs, 71 RBI, and 28 doubles.[21]
On November 14, 2023, the Royals added Gentry to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[22] He was optioned to Triple–A Omaha to begin the 2024 season.[23] In 105 games for Omaha, Gentry hit .256/.346/.429 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI. On August 25, 2024, Gentry was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[24] He made his debut later that day in an 11–3 Royals loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, coming in to pinch-hit for MJ Melendez in the bottom of the eighth inning. Facing José Alvarado, Gentry swung at the first pitch and flew out to right fielder Nick Castellanos. Gentry finished the game in right field.[25]
References
edit- ^ a b "Super 25 Preseason Baseball: Five more teams to watch". March 15, 2017.
- ^ "Baseball coaches name 2017 all-state teams".
- ^ "Former Walters State players Landon Knack, Tyler Gentry selected in MLB Draft".
- ^ "Tyler Gentry is looking forward to the Minor League grind". June 18, 2020.
- ^ "Excitement to go around: Talented youth movement has reignited hope around Alabama baseball".
- ^ "Alabama baseball expects powerful lineup in 2020".
- ^ "#28 Tyler Gentry - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ "2019 CCBL All-Star Selections". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ "Summer of growth leads to draft selections".
- ^ "Royals select Alabama outfielder in 3rd Round". June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Former Arlington slugger Tyler Gentry signs with Kansas City".
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ "Big night shows growth for Bandits' Gentry". June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Each team's hottest-hitting prospect". MLB.com.
- ^ "Familiar faces return to River Bandits". April 4, 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Alec. "Royals minor-league prospect news: Q&A with farm director Mitch Maier". The Athletic.
- ^ "Royals' Tyler Gentry: Climbs to Double-A". June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Tyler Gentry Stats, Fantasy & News".
- ^ "The Arizona Fall League rosters are here -- and they're loaded". MLB.com.
- ^ "Where Royals top prospects are starting 2023 season". MLB.com.
- ^ "Tyler Gentry Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- ^ https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article281868868.html [bare URL]
- ^ "Royals' Tyler Gentry: Sent to minor-league camp". cbssports.com. March 16, 2024.
- ^ "Royals place Hunter Renfroe on IL, call up prospect Tyler Gentry". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ^ "Phillies 11-3 Royals (Aug 25, 2024)". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Alabama Crimson Tide bio