Toronto native Tyler Black has made the most of his first day in the big leagues.
After the Milwaukee Brewers announced Tuesday that they had recalled the 23-year-old infielder from triple-A, Black put together a debut to remember.
While he didn't start Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, it didn't take long for Black to make his MLB debut. In the first inning, he was called upon to replace Gary Sanchez, who pulled up after running down the first-base line to beat out a double-play ball.
In his first at-bat in the third inning, Black hit a double to deep centre field off Rays lefty Tyler Alexander.
Tyler is the son of longtime Canadian sports broadcaster Rod Black. Right after Tyler's first career hit, the Milwaukee broadcast shared that Rod and his wife were in Cancun, Mexico when they got the call that their son was being called up.
In his next trip to the plate, Rod was given the chance to call the at-bat on the Brewers broadcast as Tyler ripped his second hit of the night for a single.
"There's a base hit for my boy, Tyler Black," Rod said as the ball made its way into the outfield.
The hit made Tyler just the 12th Canadian since 1901 to record multiple hits in their MLB debut.
He would come to the plate twice more, hitting a 351-foot flyout and 333-foot lineout, ending the night 2-for-4 with one run scored in Milwaukee's 8-2 win.
The younger Black was a first-round pick of the Brewers in the 2021 draft and broke out as a top-100 prospect in baseball with a strong 2023 campaign.
In 2023, he posted a .930 OPS with 18 home runs, 12 triples and 55 stolen bases across two levels.
He has only built on that so far in 2024, slashing .303/.393/.525 with five home runs, three triples and three stolen bases in his first 25 minor-league games of the season.
Black is currently ranked as the No. 42 prospect by MLB Pipeline — the top-ranked Canadian, beating out Chicago Cubs outfielder Owen Caissie by one spot.
After being drafted as a second baseman, Black spent most of his time defensively at third base in 2023 and has primarily been lining up at first base for the triple-A Nashville Sounds.
The Brewers improved to 18-11 and snapped a three-game losing streak with the win.
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