Former Texas A&M Baseball Star Debuts After Position Change

Former Texas A&M Aggie Tyler Naquin has played in the MLB since 2016 as an outfielder having very successful seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox, yet his recent change in his career has made headlines all around the country.

At 34, Naquin heads back down to High-A with the Lake City Captains to begin a new career as a relief pitcher within the Guardians organization. His return to High-A was his first appearance since 2013 when he was a rookie trying to make his way to the big leagues.

In his first outing as a pitcher in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday, Naquin threw a scoreless frame in the bottom of the eighth in an intense 10-9 loss to the West Michigan Whitecaps. In his one inning pitched, he recorded his first strikeout of his professional career as well as made a step in a positive direction as a new pitcher.

Major Leagues to High-A

Naquin was an extremely talented outfielder for Texas A&M as he was drafted No. 15 overall in the 2012 MLB Draft to the Guardians. Naquin earned Big 12 Player of the Year as an Aggie back in 2011 as a sophomore, playing 68 games for the Aggies in right field before he declared for the draft.

In his eight year MLB career, Naquin was off the charts as he not only had impressive stats but also a couple iconic moments that many baseball fans may recall. Through 562 games played in his major league career, Naquin racked up 439 hits, 237 RBIs and 61 home runs, while he managed a .263 batting average.

After making his MLB debut in 2016 and playing eight years of professional baseball, Naquin decided it was time for a change as he decided to sign with the Guardians as a right handed pitcher after his release from Chicago in 2023.

They always say you're never too old to try something new right? Naquin certainly believes that as he is currently one of the oldest minor league players at 34. At Texas A&M or even his first time through the minors at age 22, Naquin never once stepped on the mound, so why now?

At Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, Naquin played as a pitcher before he primarily became an outfielder in both college and professional play. His time as a pitcher though was valued as he touched 92 miles per hour on his fastball back in 2008.