TJ Friedl

BIOGRAPHY

TJ Friedl was born August 14, 1995, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. He is an outfielder in the MLB.

Mistakenly believing that he needed to play college baseball for three years, rather than attend college for three years, to be eligible for the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, Friedl did not consider it an option. That summer he played for the St. Cloud (MN) Rox of the Northwoods League where he hit .373 in 16 games with 12 stolen bases and was selected to play in the all-star game but prior to the NWL all-star game, he signed with the United States national collegiate baseball team and compiled a .290 batting average and a .536 slugging percentage. Scouts for MLB teams began to contact Friedl about signing.

Friedl signed with the Cincinnati Reds over the summer. He received a $732,500 signing bonus, the biggest bonus given to an undrafted free agent. He made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League and hit two home runs in his first game. In total, he finished 2016 with a .347 batting average, three home runs, and 17 RBIs in 29 games. In 2017, he played for both the Dayton Dragons and the Daytona Tortugas, posting a combined .273 batting average with seven home runs, 38 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 114 games between both teams. Friedl spent 2018 with both Daytona and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, batting .284/.381/.384 with five home runs, 51 RBIs, and thirty stolen bases in 131 games between the two clubs.

He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he played for the Louisville Bats, hitting .264/.357/.422/.779 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI.

On September 18, 2021, the Reds selected Friedl's contract to the active roster. He made his major league debut that day as a pinch hitter. Friedl recorded his first major league hit, a home run, on September 19.