25-year-old Tyler Robert Stephenson who was born on August 16, 1996, is an American Major League Baseball catcher for the Cincinnati Reds (MLB).
He was chosen by the Reds in the first round, 11th overall, of the 2015 MLB Draft. Stephenson, who was born in Atlanta and reared in Kennesaw, Georgia, grew up a fan of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball.
He was a member of the baseball team at Kennesaw Mountain High School, where he began calling pitches as a freshman. Stephenson was chosen out of high school by the Reds, and he opted to renounce his college baseball commitment in order to begin his professional career in their farm system.
Stephenson endured serious injuries during successive minor league seasons in 2016 and 2017, but he recovered and gained acclaim from Southern League managers as a defensive catcher for the next two years.
During the 2021–22 offseason, the Reds traded Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers, with general manager Nick Krall informing reporters that the move allowed Stephenson to become Cincinnati’s starting catcher in 2022.
On April 19, Stephenson suffered a concussion after colliding with Luke Voit of the San Diego Padres at home plate: Voit was attempting to score on the play, while Stephenson was tagging him out.
A Vine of Stephenson’s post-home run bat flip went viral while he was in high school. According to Stephenson, “It just sort of fell into place… Later that night, I watched it on Vine, and the next thing I know, I wake up in the morning with a million views… ‘You’re that bat flip kid,’ everyone says now.”