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Hill returns to Goldeyes

Tyler Hill has re-signed with the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Photo: Dave Mahussier

January 17, 2022

By Steve Schuster

Winnipeg Goldeyes

WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Goldeyes re-signed outfielder Tyler Hill on Monday.

Hill batted .294 with six home runs and 45 RBIs in 94 games for the Goldeyes last season. The Wilmington, Delaware native added 67 runs, 21 doubles, six triples, 20 stolen bases, and finished fourth in the American Association with 74 walks. The 25-year-old committed just one error while playing a career-high 71 games in centre field.

Hill ranked ninth among American Association position players with 3.4 wins above replacement (WAR).

“I’m glad to have Tyler back in Winnipeg,” said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. “Tyler is a very good player who is coming off a fine season under difficult circumstances. I’m hoping Tyler can continue to provide our offence a spark at the top of the order.”

Hill enters his eighth season of professional baseball, and is a lifetime .289 hitter with a .374 on-base percentage over 557 career games.

Hill was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round in 2014 out of Delaware Military Academy in Wilmington, and has won four championships at the professional level.

The 6-foot, 195-pound outfielder was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the minor league phase of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and subsequently traded to the New York Yankees. Hill appeared in Major League spring training games for the Red Sox and Yankees from 2017 to 2019.

A right-handed hitter and fielder, Hill first joined the Goldeyes midway through the 2019 season and hit .375 in 40 contests before having his contract purchased by the Kansas City Royals. Hill was assigned to the High-A Carolina League’s Wilmington Blue Rocks in his hometown where he batted .403 and helped the Blue Rocks win the league championship.

While the affiliated minor league season was cancelled in 2020, Hill organized and coached at the Judy Johnson Baseball Skills Clinic at Frawley Stadium, home of the Blue Rocks. The camp supported underprivileged children in the Wilmington area with participants receiving free instruction and baseball equipment donated from the community. The clinic was named after Wilmington native and Hall of Fame third baseman Judy Johnson who played 17 seasons in the Negro Leagues.

Additionally, the Goldeyes officially signed left-handed pitcher Tasker Strobel to a contract. Strobel was acquired on December 2 from the Frontier League’s Les Aigles de Trois-Rivieres after spending the 2021 season with the Gary SouthShore RailCats.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes now have five players signed to contracts for the 2022 season. American Association clubs may carry up to 30 players during spring training, which begins May 5.

2022 Winnipeg Goldeyes Player Signings

OF Tyler Hill

RHP Luis Ramirez

LHP Tasker Strobel

RHP Jhon Vargas

1B David Washington

The Winnipeg Goldeyes open the 2022 season on Friday, May 13 versus the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Shaw Park.