Meet Tyler Uberstine, the Red Sox newest roster addition whose path to MLB seems impossible
Meet Tyler Uberstine, the Red Sox newest roster addition whose path to MLB seems impossible originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Tyler Uberstine didn't make his high school's varsity baseball team as a junior.
Tyler Uberstine was 5-foot-6 when he enrolled at USC, and he simply joined the club baseball team.
Tyler Uberstine was a 19th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox , their second-to-last pick.
Tyler Uberstine spent his first three pro seasons going no higher up the ladder than High-A.
Tyler Uberstine blew out his elbow three years ago.
Tyler Uberstine is a Major League Baseball player.
That's the journey, one that in so many ways doesn't make sense.
But it has brought Uberstine to MLB, a Red Sox call-up on Friday. If the right-handed pitcher takes the mound, he'll be making his major league debut.
It will be one of the most unlikely journeys to ever end up with game action for the Red Sox.
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Who is Tyler Uberstine?
Now, Uberstine is a 26-year old right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who stands 6-foot-1 and has put up impressive minor league numbers.
A decade ago, though, he wasn't even 5-feet tall and "barely played" on his freshman baseball team, according to Forest Stulting of Medill Reports .
Even by the time he had matriculated to USC as a student, not a student-athlete, he had to take the bold move as a sophomore of asking USC's coach if he could try out for the varsity team.
He put in immense work on a throwing program, and he raised his velocity to 90 miles per hour.
He didn't make the USC team, but he put his name into the transfer portal and persuaded his way onto the Northwestern roster.
His journey up the Red Sox ladder was stunted by a missed 2023 season due to his elbow injury, but in 2024, he put up a 1.93 ERA at High-A upon his return and a 3.12 ERA in the Arizona Fall League. In 2025, he had a combined 3.58 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A.
Now, he has made one start in the minors so far, allowing a lone run in four innings, and he's on his way to the big leagues.
There's no way he should've made it. But Uberstine never stopped working, and now he's reached the apex of his sport.
