Samuel Johnathan Tuivailala (born October 19, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previosuly played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners.

Career

Tuivailala attended

Aragon High School Aragon High School is a public co-educational high school in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD). It is located in San Mateo County, a large suburb just outside San Francisco. The school is accre ...

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

. He was a pitcher and

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the baseball team along with being a quarterback on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, as well as playing basketball. He committed to play college baseball at Fresno State University. As a senior, he threw a no-hitter in which he struck out 17 batters. He is of Tongan and Mexican descent. He grew up a San Francisco Giants fan.

St. Louis Cardinals

Tuivailala was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the

2010 Major League Baseball Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. He made his professional debut for the

Gulf Coast Cardinals The Florida Complex League Cardinals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. The team plays i ...

. Tuivailala played in the outfield, shortstop and third base during his first two seasons in the Cardinals organization. After hitting only .178/.335/.256 in 42 games in 2010 and .253/.331/.329 in 44 games in 2011, he was converted into a relief pitcher before the 2012 season. Tuivailala made his pitching debut for the Johnson City Cardinals in 2012. He appeared in 11 games and had a 4.15 earned run average (ERA) in 13 innings with 23 strikeouts, but issued 13 walks. The next season, he played for the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peori ...

where he was 0-3 with a 5.35 ERA 28 relief appearances. Tuivailala started the 2014 season with the Palm Beach Cardinals. In July, he was promoted to the Springfield Cardinals, and in August he was promoted to the Memphis Redbirds. In 48 relief appearances between the three teams he was 2-2 with a 3.15 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He was promoted to the major leagues on September 8. He made his MLB debut on September 9, and played in two games his rookie season. Tuivailala began 2015 back with Memphis. The Cardinals recalled Tuivailala to the major leagues on May 15. On July 1, Tuivailala was named a PCL All-Star for 2015, his first recognition as an All-Star in his minor league career. In 29 relief appearances and IP, he was 3–0 with a 1.95 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He also co-led the PCL in games finished (23) and tied for third-most with 11 saves, converting all 11 opportunities. PCL managers and coaches rated Tuivailala the league's best reliever for 2015. He pitched in 12 games for the Cardinals in 2016, going 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA, as in 9 innings he gave up 12 hits, walked 6, and struck out 7. He was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to start the 2017 season. He spent 2017 between Memphis and St. Louis; with the Cardinals, he pitched to a 3-3 record, a 2.55 ERA, and 34 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. Tuivailala made the Cardinals' 2018 Opening Day roster.

Seattle Mariners

On July 27, 2018, Tuivailala was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for

Seth Elledge Seth Wayne Elledge (born May 20, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the four ...

. Tuivailala pitched to a 1.69 ERA in five games with the Mariners in 2018. In 2019, he worked to a 2.35 ERA over 23 games with the team. Tuivailala was placed on release waivers by the Mariners organization on March 20, 2020.

Awards

* ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Best Reliever (2015) * ''Baseball America'' St. Louis Cardinals' organization Best Fastball (2015) * Pacific Coast League All-Star (2015)

References

External links