Kyle Grant Isbel (born March 3, 1997) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Amateur career

Isbel attended

Etiwanda High School Etiwanda High School is a public high school in Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States. It is one of the twelve schools of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District and serves students in the Etiwanda community on the northeast side of Ran ...

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California, given in 1839 to the dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant formed parts of pr ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. As a junior, he hit .347. Following his junior year, he committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). Undrafted in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

, he enrolled at UNLV. In 2016, Isbel's freshman season at UNLV, he hit .319 with one home run and 28 RBIs over 56 games, earning Mountain West Conference co-Freshman of the Year honors. That summer, he played in the

California Collegiate League The California Collegiate League (CCL), founded in 1993, is a collegiate summer baseball league headquartered in Moorpark, California, United States. It is associated with both the National Baseball Congress and National Alliance of College Sum ...

for the Santa Barbara Foresters. As a sophomore at UNLV in 2017, he played in 55 games, batting .290 with six home runs and 26 RBIs. Following the season, he played in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, where he was named a league all-star. In 2018, his junior year, Isbel slashed .357/.441/.643 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs over 59 games, earning All-MW First-Team honors. After the season, he was selected by the

in the third round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

Professional career

Isbel signed with the Royals and made his professional debut with the

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca ...

before being promoted to the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

. Over 64 games between the two clubs, Isbel hit .326 with seven home runs, 32 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. In 2019, he began the year with the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

. He was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

in April, and was activated in July. He appeared in seven rehab games before being reassigned to Wilmington. Over 52 games with the Blue Rocks, Isbel hit .216 with five home runs and 23 RBIs. He played in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros after the season, earning All-Star honors. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On March 31, 2021, Royals manager Mike Matheny announced the Isbel had made Kansas City's Opening Day roster and would be starting in right field. On April 1, he was selected to the 40-man roster. Isbel made his MLB debut the same day, collecting his first MLB hit, an RBI single off of

Kyle Gibson Kyle Benjamin Gibson (born October 23, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers ...

of the Texas Rangers. He finished the game three for five with two RBIs. On September 3, 2022, in a 12–2 win over the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, Isbel hit his first career grand slam off of reliever

Jason Foley Jason Joseph Foley (born November 1, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021. Amateur career Foley attended Mepham High School in his hometown of No ...

. On May 4, 2023, Isbel exited a game against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

with a hamstring strain. The following day, he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and ruled out for 6 weeks.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isbel, Kyle 1997 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Baseball players from San Bernardino County, California Etiwanda High School alumni Idaho Falls Chukars players Kansas City Royals players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball outfielders Omaha Storm Chasers players Sportspeople from Fontana, California Surprise Saguaros players UNLV Rebels baseball players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players