Search the Community

Tyler Webb grew up in Prosper, Texas, where he was a star on the football field in high school. He was also a star baseball player in high school, coached by the father of a big-league All Star. He was mentored by a local big leaguer who starred for the Minnesota Twins for 12 of his 19 major-league seasons. In 2018, he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins. Recently, Twins Daily had the opportunity to catch up with Tyler Webb, the Twins 40th round draft pick this past June to learn about a variety of topics. What was it like to play high school football in Texas? What are his strengths, and what areas is he hoping to improve upon during the offseason? Thank you to Tyler for taking time to answer our questions!Upon signing with the Twins, Tyler Webb spent most of the summer in the Gulf Coast League, though he did play ten games in Elizabethton when they needed an outfielder. Join us in getting to know Twins minor league outfielder and 2018 draft pick Tyler Webb. Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in Prosper, Texas, I have an assumption on which MLB team was your favorite team growing up. Did you get to a lot of Rangers games? Who were some of your favorite players? Tyler Webb (TW): Yes, growing up I was a big Rangers fan. My dad would take me to a bunch of games when I was younger and when I got older me and my friends would go on the weekends when we got a chance to make a game. My two favorite players that I got to watch were Michael Young and Josh Hamilton. SS: You were a three-time All Star football player in Texas. Do the movies and TV shows do justice to football in Texas, and what was your football experience like? TW: The movies do a good job of showing the hype of Texas football. There’s nothing like a Friday night football game in the state of Texas. The energy and atmosphere is unmatched. My football experience was unbelievable. I was fortunate enough to play all four years on varsity, so I got to play in a lot of big games and also play with some great players who went on to play at big division 1 schools and even to go on and play in the NFL. SS: You were also twice an All State performer in baseball. What were some of the better memories of your high school baseball career? TW: I was lucky enough to have a great coach in high school, he is actually Matt Carpenter’s, for the Cardinals, dad. We were and still are what I would consider one of the powerhouses in the state of Texas so we always made it deep into playoffs and won a lot of games. The best memories I have from high school baseball are just the playoff runs we made and the other big name schools we played and beat. SS: What was the recruitment process like for you out of high school, and what made Galveston College the right place for you to play? Did you consider playing football after high school too? TW: The recruiting process for baseball out of high school was very slow for me. I only had a few junior colleges that were looking at me. It wasn’t until my senior year that I decided to pursue baseball, because up until then I was so focused on football. But when I realized that I probably had more opportunities in baseball I decided to take that route. I chose Galveston College because coach Joblin was going to put me at a position that suited me best. I played infield in high school but knew my strength was outfield and Galveston was the only school that saw that. SS: What was the adjustment from the high school game to the junior college game? You stepped in and immediately put up some big numbers. TW: The adjustment from high school to junior college was tough. My freshman fall was terrible. I was having no success and wasn’t enjoying it. But something clicked for me going into the spring and I ended up having a great freshman year and then I went into my sophomore year with a ton of confidence and ended up being an All-American. SS: How about the decision to go to the University of Memphis after two years at Galveston? Did you have options, and what made becoming a Tiger the right move for you at that time? TW: My decision to go to Memphis was a no brainer. As soon as I stepped onto the campus I knew that was where I wanted and needed to go. I had some other options, but I just had a feeling that those weren’t the right places for me. I also had a high school teammate that was playing at Memphis at the time so that was neat to get to play with him again. SS: When did you first start to notice scouts at your games? When did you have your first interactions with scouts? TW: I first started noticing scouts at games my sophomore year of Junior College. And then scouts continued to come my junior and senior year of college. It really didn’t start heating up until my senior fall when I started having meetings with a bunch of teams. SS: The Twins took you in the 40th round. How did you find out that you had been drafted? How busy was your phone at that moment? TW: I had received some calls earlier in the draft, but teams never pulled the trigger on me. Then when it came to the last day the Twins had contacted me in the earlier rounds that day but when it came to the 40th round I hadn’t heard anything so I honestly stopped watching the draft. My mom on the other hand was still watching and my name popped up and she went crazy, then at that same time the area scout called me and let me know I had been picked. It was a very stressful but neat experience. SS: What has the adjustment been like for you so far, from the college game to the professional game, both on and off the field? TW: The adjustment from college to pro ball was tough but I was prepared. I have a few close friends who had been in pro ball a year or two before me so I was able to get good advice from them on what to expect. SS: At this very early stage in your career, what would you say are your biggest strengths? TW: My biggest strength right now would be my ability to learn. I still don’t believe I’ve reached my full potential and I know there is still a lot about the game that I can absorb and incorporate to my own game to be successful. SS: What are the areas of your game that you would like to spend time working to improve? TW: The part of my game that I feel needs improvement is hitting. I would consider myself an athletic hitter, but I want to be a pure hitter in the long run. SS: What do you have planned for the offseason? What was your major in school, and what do you do to get away from the game of baseball? TW: This offseason I am currently finishing up some school while I have the chance to. I’m majoring in business management. I love being outdoors so any chance I get to go hunting or fishing I do. SS: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? TW: First and foremost I have to give credit to my dad for putting me in baseball and providing me with whatever necessary to be successful in this game. My high school coach is another big influencer on how I got to where I am. He really changed my mind from football to baseball. Another person who helped me was my junior college coach. He really helped me become a better player both defensively and offensively and gave me a foundation to build off of. Then my coaches at Memphis really fine-tuned my skills to prepare me for pro ball. A person that was always a mentor for me throughout this was Torii Hunter. I grew up in the same town as him and played with his sons and he was always there to answer any questions I had. SS: Favorite Baseball movie? TW: The Sandlot is a classic. A huge Thank You to Tyler Webb for taking the time to respond to our questions. We wish him a great offseason and success going forward in his career. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions below. Click here to view the article