Tyler Ryan Jay (born April 19, 1994) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization. He played

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 p ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

Career

Amateur career

Jay attended

Lemont High School Lemont High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Lemont, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the only school of Lemont Township High School District 210, which serves the Village of ...

Lemont, Illinois Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,629 as of the 2020 census. The village is situated on a hillside along the south banks of ...

. He played both baseball and football at Lemont. Jay committed to the

to play

for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

. As a freshman, he appeared in 18 games, going 1–3 with a 3.10

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 20 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2014, he took over as the closer and had 10 saves, a 1.94 ERA and 47 strikeouts. After the season, Jay played for the United States collegiate national team during the summer, and also played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior in 2015, he had a 1.08 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 14 saves.

Minnesota Twins

Jay was considered one of the top prospects for 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 f ...

. The Minnesota Twins selected him with the sixth overall pick. He officially signed with the Twins on June 17 and was assigned to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at H ...

where he posted a 3.93 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched. The Twins transitioned Jay into a starting pitcher with Fort Myers in 2016, where he posted a 5–5 record with a 2.84 ERA in 13 starts before being promoted to the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

where he pitched to a 5.79 ERA in five games (two starts). He pitched only 11.2 innings in 2017 due to injury. Jay returned in 2018 to pitch for the

, compiling a 4–5 record with a 4.22 ERA in 38 games. Jay would begin the 2019 season with the

where he posted a 1–2 record with a 4.82 ERA in 17 appearances.

Cincinnati Reds

On June 10, 2019, Jay was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash considerations. Jay would spend the rest of the 2019 season between the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

and the AZL Reds where he posted a 0–0 record with a 3.03 ERA in 18 appearances and a 0–0 record with a 9.00 ERA in 2 appearances respectively. On June 1, 2020, Jay was released by the Reds.

Joliet Slammers

On June 7, 2022, Jay signed with the

Joliet Slammers The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, that play in the independent Frontier League. They play their home games at Duly Health and Care Field. They replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

. In 22 appearances for Joliet, he registered a 1.64 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 8 saves in 22.0 innings of work. In 2023, Jay made 20 appearances (7 starts) for the Slammers, logging a 4–3 record and 4.26 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 7 saves in 57.0 innings pitched.

New York Mets

On August 24, 2023, Jay's contract was purchased by the

organization.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Tyler 1994 births Living people People from Lemont, Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Baseball pitchers Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players All-American college baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Gulf Coast Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Chattanooga Lookouts players Surprise Saguaros players Arizona League Reds players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Minor league baseball players Joliet Slammers players