Tayler Scott

Tayler James Scott (born 1 June 1992) is a South African professional baseball pitcher in the Houston Astros organization.

He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

He is the first South African baseball pitcher in MLB and NPB history.

Scott was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He moved to the United States when he was 16 to attend high school and play baseball.

After moving, he attended Notre Dame Prep High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Scott initially committed to play college baseball at Arizona.

Scott was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB draft.

Scott played in the Cubs organization from 2011 through the 2015 season.

During his time with them, he played for the AZL Cubs, Boise Hawks, Kane County Cougars, Daytona Cubs, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, and the Tennessee Smokies.

He was released by the Cubs on 30 March 2016.

Scott signed with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association, an independent baseball league, in April 2016.

In 17 relief appearances, he pitched to a 1.88 ERA while striking out 32 batters in 28 2⁄3 innings.

On 6 July 2016, Scott signed a minor-league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

During 2016, he played for the Biloxi Shuckers of the Southern League and the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, and returned to Biloxi to begin the 2017 season.

On 31 July 2017, Scott was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Jeremy Jeffress.

He played for the Round Rock Express in 2017 and 2018 while in the Rangers organization.

Scott became a free agent after the 2018 season, and signed a minor-league contract with the Seattle Mariners on 24 January 2019.

He opened the 2019 season with the Tacoma Rainiers.

Scott was called up to the major leagues for the first time on 7 June 2019.

He made his major-league debut on 8 June, becoming the first South African pitcher in MLB history.

He pitched innings in his debut, against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing three runs on four hits.

His first strikeout was against Wilfredo Tovar.

On 25 June 2019, Scott was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.

In eight appearances for the Orioles, Scott struggled to an 18.69 ERA with 7 strikeouts in innings of work.

He was markedly better with the Triple–A Norfolk Tides, registering a 0.56 ERA with 21 strikeouts across 13 appearances.

On 30 October, Scott was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Norfolk.

He elected free agency on 4 November.

On 1 December 2019, Scott signed a one-year contract with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

In 2020, Scott struggled to a 15.75 ERA in 7 games for Hiroshima.

Scott did not appear in a regular season game for the Carp in 2021 and became a free agent after the season.

On 7 March 2022, Scott signed a minor-league contract with the San Diego Padres organization.

On 11 September, Scott was designated for assignment.

On 14 September 2022, Scott was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies.

In four appearances for the Triple–A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Scott struggled to a 15.00 ERA with four strikeouts in three innings of work.

He was designated for assignment on 16 December, after the Phillies signed Taijuan Walker.

Scott cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A on 23 December; however, he declined the assignment and became a free agent.

On 7 January 2023, Scott signed a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He began the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing only two earned runs in innings before he was called up to the majors on 22 May.

He pitched six innings across six games for the Dodgers, posting a 9.00 ERA before he was designated for assignment on 17 June.