Tyler Bram Krieger (born January 16, 1994) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder.[1][2]

Tyler Krieger
Krieger with the Akron RubberDucks in 2018
Second baseman/Outfielder
Born: (1994-01-16) January 16, 1994 (age 30)
Laguna Hills, California
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right

Krieger was an ESPN all-state selection in Georgia in high school. He then attended Clemson University, where he was 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in batting as a sophomore. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 4th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. In 2016 with the Class A Lake County Captains he was a mid-season Midwest League All Star, and that season he was also an MILB.com Cleveland Organization All Star. In January 2017, MLB.com ranked him as the 10th-best minor league second baseman. Krieger was the starting second baseman for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March 2017.

Early life

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Krieger was born in Laguna Hills, California, and is Jewish on his father's side, as his father and his paternal grandparents are Jewish.[1][3][4][5] His father, Bram, played baseball at Ithaca College.[6]

Krieger attended Northview High School in Johns Creek, Georgia, where he was an ESPN all-state selection, and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.[7][6] He did not sign with the Mariners, and instead went to college.[8]

College

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He attended Clemson University, where he played shortstop for the Clemson Tigers in college baseball.[9][8] He was ranked the Perfect Game # 23 freshman in the country, and played during the summer for Santa Barbara in the California Collegiate League.[6] As a sophomore, in 57 games he was 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in batting (.338), runs (49), and doubles (18), and 6th in steals (19), and was a second-team All-ACC selection, an All-ACC Academic selection, and a Brooks Wallace Shortstop-of-the-Year Award Watch List member.[8][10]

As a junior, he was a pre-season Perfect Game first-team All-ACC.[8] After his junior year, he was named the Perfect Game 11th-best pre-season ACC prospect for the draft, and was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB Draft, signing for $400,000.[11][8][12] He was ranked the Indians' # 20 prospect by Baseball America at the end of 2015.[13]

Professional career

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Cleveland Indians

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Krieger made his professional debut in 2016 with the Class A Lake County Captains, for whom he played second base, batted .313 with three home runs and 35 RBIs in 69 games that included a 23-game hitting streak, and was a mid-season Midwest League All Star.[1][14] He was then promoted to the Class A-Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats during the season, for whom he batted .282 in 59 games with two home runs and 23 RBIs and was Carolina League Player of the Week on August 21.[15][1] He was an MILB.com Cleveland Organization All Star, and in January 2017 MLB.com ranked him as the 10th-best minor league second baseman.[1][14][16] He was ranked as the Indians' # 18 pre-2017 season prospect by MLBPipeline.com.[17]

In 2017 he played for the Akron RubberDucks in the Class AA Eastern League, batting .225/.303/.337 with six home runs, 43 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and seven sacrifice hits (tied for 3rd in the league) in 119 games.[18] After the season, the Indians assigned him to the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League.[19]

He returned to the RubberDucks for the 2018 season, batting .276/.332/.372 with five home runs, 55 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases in 123 games, that included a 24-game hitting streak.[20][21][22] He played 54 games in left field, 34 games in center field, and 17 games at second base.[21]

In 2019 he split the season between 48 games for the RubberDucks and 13 games for the Columbus Clippers of the Triple-A International League.[23] In a combined 207 at bats he hit .208/.291/.309 with four home runs, 20 RBIs and 10 steals while playing 45 games at third base, 10 games in left field, two games at second base, and four games at DH.[23] Kriegerdid not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] In 2021, Krieger spent the year with Triple-A Columbus, hitting .169/.223/.238 in 60 games for the team. Krieger elected free agency on November 7, 2021.[25]

Chicago White Sox

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On February 24, 2022, Krieger signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[26] Krieger was released by the White Sox organization prior to the season on April 5.[27]

Atlanta Braves

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On April 18, 2022, Krieger signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.[28] He appeared in 7 games split between the Double-A Mississippi Braves and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Braves, going 4-for-28 with two RBI. On June 27, Krieger retired from professional baseball.[29]

Team Israel

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Krieger was the starting second baseman for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March 2017.[30][31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Tyler Krieger Stats, Highlights, Bio", MILB.com.
  2. ^ "Indians' Tyler Krieger: Set to play in Glendale" CBS Sports. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  3. ^ "MLB players Ty Kelly, Sam Fuld commit to World Baseball Classic roster; Team Israel stated that it is finalizing its roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March in South Korea," Haaretz, January 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Carroll, Ed (February 22, 2017). "Indians' Krieger looking to help Team Israel in any way he can". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  5. ^ "Former Hillcats represent in WBC"| newsadvance.com
  6. ^ a b c "Tyler Krieger Bio," clemsontigers.com
  7. ^ Brad Senkiw (January 26, 2015). "Krieger: 'An injury has taught me a lot'". Independent Mail. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e Tony Lastoria (June 9, 2015). 2015 "Indians 4th round pick: SS Tyler Krieger," Scout
  9. ^ Brenner, Aaron (January 27, 2015). "Clemson's Krieger eager to return". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  10. ^ "Tyler Krieger - Clemson Baseball Player Profile," TigerNet
  11. ^ "Erwin, Krieger lead Tiger selections on Day 2 of draft". Independent Mail. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  12. ^ Chris Cotillo (July 8, 2015). "MLB draft 2015: Draft signings tracker," MLB Daily Dish
  13. ^ "Stats: Tyler Krieger," Baseball America
  14. ^ a b Brian Hemminger (January 24, 2017). "Tyler Krieger is our No. 19 Cleveland Indians prospect. Who should be No. 20?", Let's Go Tribe
  15. ^ David Glasier (June 26, 2016). "Francisco Mejia, Tyler Krieger promoted after Lake County Captains beat Great Lakes". News-Herald. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  16. ^ "MLB.com 2016 Prospect Watch," MLB.com
  17. ^ Austin Laymance (March 7, 2017). "Israel beats Taipei, moves to 2-0 in WBC 2017," mlb.com.
  18. ^ Arthur Kinney (April 20, 2017). "Around The Farm: April 19, 2017 - Krieger and Bradley shine in Akron rout while Kratz continues stellar season," Scout.
  19. ^ "5 SeaWolves’ players to compete in Arizona Fall League"
  20. ^ RubberDucks 5, Rumble Ponies 1: Ducks jump out to 4-0 lead, cruise past Rumble Ponies - Sports - Akron Beacon Journal - Akron, OH
  21. ^ a b Tyler Krieger Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
  22. ^ RubberDucks Tyler Krieger's streak ends, then begins: Indians minor leagues | cleveland.com
  23. ^ a b Tyler Krieger College, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
  24. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". mlbtraderumors.com. 30 June 2020.
  25. ^ "2021-22 Minor League Free Agents for All 30 MLB Teams". 9 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Tyler Krieger Stats, Fantasy & News".
  27. ^ "Tyler Krieger Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  28. ^ Chris Harris (18 April 2022). "M-Braves add INF Tyler Krieger, place INF Jordan Cowan on IL". milb.com.
  29. ^ "Tyler Krieger Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News".
  30. ^ "MLB players Ty Kelly, Sam Fuld commit to World Baseball Classic roster; Team Israel stated that it is finalizing its roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March in South Korea,", Haaretz, January 20, 2017.
  31. ^ David Adler (February 8, 2017). "Israel brings MLB experience to 1st WBC main draw", mlb.com.
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