Tyler Stephenson

27-Year-Old CatcherC

Cincinnati Reds

2024 Stats

AVG

.193

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Reds manager David Bell said before the 2023 season that the goal was for Stephenson to catch roughly 65 games. Stephenson ended up making 92 appearances at catcher (78 starts) to go along with 43 appearances at designated hitter (40 starts) and eight at first base (four starts). While new arrivals to Cincinnati cemented themselves at the major-league level, Stephenson's play raised more questions than it answered in regards to his long-term future with the organization. He hit a mere five home runs in 271 plate appearances away from Great American Ball Park. By FanGraphs' WAR formula, Stephenson was below replacement level in his 142 games. He's suffered at least three concussions in his playing career and one more could force a move out from behind the plate, if his poor defense doesn't necessitate a move sooner. Now entering his arbitration years, Stephenson's starts at DH could take a big hit as the Reds find at-bats for other talented young players. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#227

ADP

Overall

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'4"

Weight 225

DOB 8/16/1996

Born Atlanta, GA

College None

Drafted 1st Rd 2015 CIN

Smacks first career grand slam

CCincinnati Reds

April 20, 2024

Stephenson went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Angels.

ANALYSIS
Patrick Sandoval loaded the bases in the first inning and Stephenson cashed in with his first career grand slam. As Mark Sheldon of MLB.com notes, Stephenson has been one of the best hitters in baseball at making hard contact so far this year, ranking at the very top of the league in barrel percentage entering play Saturday. The results weren't there early on this season, but Stephenson now has three home runs in his last seven games.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+15%

OPS vs LHP

2024

+14%

OPS vs LHP

2023

+22%

OPS vs LHP

2022

Even Split

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.807	224	29	7	35	0	.288	.357	.449
Since 2022vs Right	.701	542	64	15	66	1	.245	.315	.386
2024vs Left	.735	23	4	2	6	0	.158	.261	.474
2024vs Right	.644	43	6	1	4	0	.211	.302	.342
2023vs Left	.799	140	17	4	18	0	.283	.350	.449
2023vs Right	.657	377	42	9	38	0	.228	.305	.352
2022vs Left	.852	61	8	1	11	0	.346	.410	.442
2022vs Right	.852	122	16	5	24	1	.307	.352	.500
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+24%

OPS at Home

2024

+90%

OPS at Home

2023

+9%

OPS at Home

2022

+55%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.813	376	53	13	59	0	.284	.364	.449
Since 2022Away	.654	390	40	9	42	1	.232	.292	.362
2024Home	.823	41	5	2	8	0	.257	.366	.457
2024Away	.433	25	5	1	2	0	.091	.160	.273
2023Home	.728	246	32	8	27	0	.248	.333	.394
2023Away	.667	271	27	5	29	0	.239	.303	.364
2022Home	1.042	89	16	3	24	0	.395	.449	.593
2022Away	.674	94	8	3	11	1	.247	.298	.376
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Stat Review

How does Tyler Stephenson compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.53

BB Rate

12.1%

K Rate

22.7%

BABIP

.200

ISO

.193

AVG

.193

OBP

.288

SLG

.386

OPS

.674

wOBA

.298

Exit Velocity

92.5 mph

Hard Hit Rate

39.5%

Barrels/PA

13.6%

Expected BA

.252

Expected SLG

.485

Sprint Speed

23.8 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

53.5%

Line Drive %

14.0%

Fly Ball %

32.6%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Tyler Stephenson Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Latest Fantasy Rumors

Regression proof?

CCincinnati Reds

April 30, 2023

Stephenson has a .415 batting average on balls in play this season -- the fourth highest average in MLB.

ANALYSIS
Stephenson's sky-high BABIP is unsustainable, but it's partially being offset by strong contact from the 26-year-old. His 46.9 hard-hit percentage is much improved from his career 38.8 percent clip. Stephenson's metrics could benefit from a larger sample size, but his career .295 batting average across parts of four campaigns lends credibility.

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2016

Stephenson was a bright spot for the Reds when on the field in 2023, but he was limited to just 50 games around a series of injuries. A broken clavicle put him on the shelf for good in late July. The concussion he suffered early on was the third of his playing career by his own admission, creating some talk among Reds fans that Stephenson may eventually need to move off the catcher position. By all accounts Stephenson is intent on catching until he isn't allowed to anymore, and if a move is necessary in time, Stephenson's bat should play well enough at first base. With better health, Stephenson could emerge as a top-10 hitter at the catcher position while playing his home games at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.

Stephenson finally gained a foothold in the majors in 2021, hitting .286/.366/.431 with 10 homers, 45 RBI and 56 runs in 402 plate appearances. Now with Tucker Barnhart on the Tigers, the path is clear for him to be the full-time starter with the Reds. Stephenson was originally slated for platoon duty against left-handed starters, but that role grew over the season where he was essentially splitting time with Barnhart. He didn't have a big lefty-right split, trading some power for better on-base results against righties. Stephenson also hit fifth or higher in the order in all but 16 of his games, which bodes well for his spot in 2022. The Reds signed Aramis Garcia to be his backup, so this should be a traditional starter/backup set up in his favor in 2022, rather than a platoon.

In his first major-league game July 27 against the Cubs, Stephenson homered in his first at-bat, singled in his next at-bat and then drew a walk in his final plate appearance of the night. He then got his next chance to hit on -- wait for it -- Sept. 10. That's right, a team that was desperate for offense and getting below-average offensive production from the catcher position couldn't see fit to give one of its better hitting prospects an at-bat in over a month, and gave him only 20 PA all season. This coming season promises to provide more opportunities for Stephenson after the Reds designated Curt Casali for assignment. Keep in mind, however, that Stephenson is a right-handed hitter and thus could be stuck on the lesser side of a platoon with Tucker Barnhart, should the Reds decide to platoon the two catchers.

Stephenson's career has been stalled by injuries since he was taken in the first round of the 2015 draft, but he's made it through the last two years relatively healthy, and has been adding skills along the way. He maintained excellent plate discipline despite hitting the Double-A wall (metaphorically, not literally) at Chattanooga, walking over 10% of the time for the third season in a row while striking out 60 times. He hasn't hit for much power yet, but he's adding weight to his 6-foot-4 frame, and at times has demonstrated that he's capable of hitting for power, including at the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game, where he hit a massive shot to center. His framing gets panned by scouts, but he has a big arm and good makeup. The Reds will probably give him most of the 2020 season at Triple-A Louisville, but an early callup is possible if Tucker Barnhart starts slowly at the plate.

Stephenson, the Reds' first-round pick in 2015, finally made it through a full minor-league season without suffering a major injury. In 2016, it was a wrist injury that limited him to just 39 games at Low-A Dayton. In 2017, while still at Dayton, his season ended in July due to a thumb injury, capping him at 80 games. He finally moved up to High-A Daytona last year and played 109 games, hitting .250/.338/.392 with 11 homers. That appears underwhelming, but keep in mind that he was in a tough park and in a tough league to hit, and his primary focus was trying to get up to speed defensively behind the plate. He doesn't have the profile of an elite prospect, but catchers often move up at a slower pace anyhow. He'll likely arrive with the big club in 2020 or 2021.

The Reds drafted Stephenson with the 11th overall pick in 2015 as the first catcher taken in the draft. He's bigger than most catchers at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, but the Reds are confident that he can remain behind the plate nonetheless, as they like his defensive skills, particularly his strong throwing arm. His professional debut at rookie-level Billings netted just middling results (.268/.352/.361 with just one homer in 54 games), but that's not too worrisome yet. He'll be a slow-cook prospect - it may take him four-to-five years before we see him in Cincinnati.

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