Tyler Austin

Christopher Tyler Austin (born September 6, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Milwaukee Brewers.

In 2008, his sophomore season, Austin had a .626 batting average with 19 home runs, and The Rockdale Citizen named him the high school baseball hitter of the year.

At the age of 17, Austin was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

He had surgery to remove the tumor, but did not require chemotherapy as the cancer was caught early and did not spread to other parts of his body.

Austin committed to attend Kennesaw State University on a college baseball scholarship to play for the Kennesaw State Owls.

Austin played baseball for Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia, before the Yankees selected him in the 2010 MLB draft.

He became a highly regarded prospect, but missed playing time due to injuries.

Noticed by Yankees' area scout Darryl Monroe, the Yankees selected Austin in the 13th round, with the 415th overall selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft as a catcher.

Austin chose to sign with the Yankees rather than enroll at Kennesaw State, receiving a $130,000 signing bonus.

He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, playing in two games.

In 2011, Austin began the season with the Gulf Coast Yankees, before receiving a promotion to the Staten Island Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League.

He had a .354 batting average across the 2011 season.

Though he was drafted as a catcher, Austin spent most of his playing time as a first baseman and third baseman.

Austin began the 2012 season with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League.

He was named to appear in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

After hitting 14 home runs with Charleston, the Yankees promoted Austin to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in July.

He was chosen to represent the Yankees in the All-Star Futures Game, but suffered a head injury in July 2012, which caused him to withdraw from the game.

After the end of Tampa's regular season, the Yankees promoted Austin again, this time to the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League, so that he could play for the Thunder during the Eastern League postseason.

He finished the 2012 season, hitting .322 with a .400 on base percentage, .559 slugging percentage, 17 home runs, and 80 runs batted in (RBIs).

Brian Cashman, the Yankees' general manager, referred to Austin as a "mega prospect" in August 2012.

Austin won the Yankees' Minor League Player of the Year Award for the 2012 season.

Prior to the 2013 season, Austin was ranked as the 77th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

The Yankees invited Austin to spring training in 2013 as a non-roster player.

He played for Trenton, primarily as an outfielder.

He was selected to appear in the Eastern League All-Star Game.

Austin went on the disabled list with a wrist injury in July, which caused him to miss almost 60 games.

He batted .257 with a .344 on-base percentage and a .373 slugging percentage with six home runs and 40 RBIs in 83 games for Trenton in 2013.

The Yankees assigned him to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) after the regular season.

Austin lost about 10 lbs by focusing on nutrition and gained strength during the 2013–14 offseason.

Austin made his MLB debut in 2016.

He played for the Yankees until 2018, when he was traded to the Twins.

He has played for the Twins and the Giants in 2019.

The Giants released him during the season, and he signed a minor league contract with the Brewers.

Austin is the oldest of three sons born to Kim and Chris Austin.

He also has two younger brothers, Dylan and Kyle.

Though he grew up in Conyers, Georgia, 25 mi from Atlanta, Austin grew up as a fan of the New York Yankees, and considered Derek Jeter to be his favorite player.

Austin attended Heritage High School in Conyers.

He played for the school's baseball team as a catcher, third baseman, and pitcher.

He was invited to play in amateur showcase tournaments, such as the AFLAC All-American Game.