Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Tyler Stephenson was born August 16, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a catcher in the MLB.

Stephenson attended Kennesaw Mountain High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. He was committed to Georgia Tech to play college baseball.

Stephenson was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds as the 11th pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft. He has been compared to Matt Wieters. The Reds signed Stephenson and assigned him to the Billings Mustangs, where he spent the whole season, batting .268 with one home run and 16 RBIs in 54 games.

In 2019, Stephenson spent the season with the Chattanooga Lookouts, slashing .285/.372/.410 with six home runs and 44 RBIs over 89 games. Stephenson played for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 season and was awarded the AFL's Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award. After the 2019 season, he was added to the Reds 40–man roster.

On July 27, 2020, Stephenson made his MLB debut and he hit his first MLB homer on his first at bat, off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Duane Underwood Jr..

When Curt Casali left the team prior to the 2021 season, Stephenson became Tucker Barnhart's backup catcher, and he also received significant time as a pinch hitter. Barnhart was traded after the 2021 season, allowing Stephenson to become the Reds' starting catcher in 2022.