Tyler Stephenson

28-Year-Old CatcherC

Cincinnati Reds

2024 Stats

AVG

.258

RBI

2025 Projections

AVG

RBI

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

Stephenson took a big step forward at the plate in 2024, raising his OPS from a career-low .696 to .782. He set career highs in home runs (19), runs (69) and RBI (66), fueled by improved performance and a rather surprising amount of playing time behind the dish. Stephenson went from 78 starts at catcher in 2023 to 112 last season, and he led the National League in total appearances at catcher with 127. After Stephenson suffered a collarbone injury and the third concussion of his playing career in 2022, the Reds made an effort to limit him, but the reins were off last season and he seemed to re-establish himself as the catcher of the present and future in Cincinnati. His defense improved by various metrics last year, although he still grades out less than favorably in terms of blocking, framing and pop time. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

From Preseason

Overall Rank

Dynasty

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

Drives in five Friday

CCincinnati Reds

September 20, 2024

Stephenson went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, five RBI and three total runs scored in Friday's 8-3 win over the Pirates.

ANALYSIS
Stephenson opened the scoring with a solo home run off Mitch Keller in the first inning before driving in three more runs with a bases-clearing double in the third. Stephenson would pick up a fifth RBI with his third hit of the game in the fourth frame. The 28-year-old catcher has gone 8-for-14 over his last five games, boosting his slash line to .265/.344/.459 on the season with 19 homers, 64 RBI and 67 runs scored across 486 plate appearances.

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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

+10%

OPS vs LHP

2024

+4%

OPS vs LHP

2023

+22%

OPS vs LHP

2022

Even Split

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.812	339	49	13	49	0	.278	.348	.464
Since 2022vs Right	.735	876	103	25	108	2	.254	.329	.406
2024vs Left	.807	138	24	8	20	0	.244	.319	.488
2024vs Right	.773	377	45	11	46	1	.263	.345	.428
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

+20%

OPS at Home

2024

+17%

OPS at Home

2023

+9%

OPS at Home

2022

+55%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.825	594	84	23	97	0	.282	.355	.470
Since 2022Away	.690	621	68	15	60	2	.241	.314	.376
2024Home	.841	259	36	12	46	0	.275	.344	.498
2024Away	.720	256	33	7	20	1	.241	.332	.388
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

0.41

BB Rate

9.3%

K Rate

22.7%

BABIP

.307

ISO

.186

AVG

.258

OBP

.338

SLG

.444

OPS

.782

wOBA

.343

Exit Velocity

90.2 mph

Hard Hit Rate

31.9%

Barrels/PA

6.0%

Expected BA

.241

Expected SLG

.403

Sprint Speed

23.8 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

47.4%

Line Drive %

19.0%

Fly Ball %

33.6%

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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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2016

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.

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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Sitting out afternoon game

CCincinnati Reds

September 19, 2024

Stephenson is absent from Thursday's lineup versus Atlanta.