Tyler Wade’s journey to the majors:
Tyler Dean Wade was born on November 24, 1994, in San Diego, California. He played baseball as a boy and from the age of ten was a New York Yankee and Derek Jeter fan. He played ball for Murrieta Valley High School in California, where he developed into a shortstop who played several times at second base. New York Yankee scouts took notice of Wade and particularly liked his athleticism. They thought so much of him that they selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft when he was just eighteen.
He had committed to play college baseball for San Diego State University but chose to forgo his commitment and sign with the Yankees; Tyler Wade made his pro debut in the rookie Gulf Coast League. At the end of the season, he was batting .309 with 12 RBI’s and the Yankees promoted him to the Staten Island Yankees. In the same year, he also played at the Charleston River Dogs and for the Trenton Thunder. He ended playing in 129 games for an average of .273 with 51 RBI’s.
He started 2015 with the Tampa A team but ended the season back with the Thunder. Between the two teams, he played in 127 games for an average of .262 with 31 RBI’s and with three home runs. He was an invitee to 2016 spring training but spend the season with the Thunder. He began the 2017 season with Scranton Wilkes/Bare but was called up to the Stadium on June 27. He ended up taking the shuttle between the Rail Riders and the Yankees multiple times. He was finally called up for the rest of the season on the 4th of September. He was batting .310 for the Rail Riders but .155 for the Yankees in just 30 games. During the 2018 season, he was back and forth between the teams again. During the winter, he played in the Arizona fall league, where he worked on his outfield skills.
This year he started his season with the Rail Riders but has been up and down again. While at Scranton, Wade has been honing his outfield skills while his natural position is as a shortstop. As it turns out, Wade is a pretty good utility player even playing second base, although he isn’t the greatest hitter. He is still young and still developing. Wade was again called up when the roster expanded and has made some exciting catches in left field. As the postseason approached, he was in competition to make the postseason roster with Clint Frazier. Frazier wasn’t hitting well and still lacked outfield skills, so Wade’s fieldwork gives him a slight edge. Last season in the majors, he was hitting .247 with 9 RBI’s. In his short time up, he had six stolen bases. The Yankees like his best on the team speed. He can pinch-run and cover vast areas of the outfield.
In an interesting point, as he hopes to play full time at the Stadium, Wade has increased his batting average by about 20% each of the last three years. If he follows that trend, he should well exceed a .260 average this year, that should impress the Yankee brass. With his abilities anywhere in the outfield, plus the ability to play second base, and his natural position as a shortstop and backup to first-year shortstop Gleyber Torres should make him valuable. The Yankees can certainly use this “Super Utility Player.” His hitting at the plate during spring training will have a lot to do with if he makes the team or finds himself back with Rail Riders. So far this spring training he has an OPS of .556, with one monster home run and two stolen bases over nine plate appearances.
In the past three seasons, Tyler Wade has had only two injuries; he was hit on the wrist in 2018 and had minor hip tightness in March of 2019, neither of which caused him to miss significant playing time.
Wade is not married, and there are no scandals attached to his name. In the offseason, he lives in southern California. He has an older brother Kyle. Tyler attributes his hard-working style to his military father. He became a Yankee fan at the age of ten when going on a family trip to Cooperstown, he got to see a Yankee game at the Old Stadium. In that game, he got to see Derek Jeter do his famous jump throw. When he returned home, he practiced that throw in backyard Whiffle ball games. Wade carries a tattoo behind his left wrist the says “Confidence is key” For female fans, he is a bit of a heartthrob with his good looks. Hopefully, if he is selected for the 26 man roster he will shine as one of the next great Yankee stars.