This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers' Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
KANSAS CITY -- Tyler Tolbert's baseball career has taken him worldwide.
The Royals¡¯ speedster, who made his debut last week, stayed close to home in Birmingham, Ala., for college at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. But ever since he was selected in the 13th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by Kansas City, Tolbert has been all over the globe to play.
From the small towns to Australia to the Dominican Republic, Tolbert¡¯s baseball experience is vast and diverse.
And every destination had a place in Tolbert¡¯s journey that brought him to Kansas City, finally breaking into the big leagues.
¡°The journey is just as beautiful as the destination,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°All of those places taught me about myself and taught me about baseball. They¡¯ve formed me into the player I am today.¡±
That player is a speedy infielder/outfielder whom the Royals called up to replace injured Dairon Blanco. Blanco has etched out a niche role with Kansas City as a pinch-runner, valuable late in games with elite speed and fearlessness. While it¡¯s hard to replace Blanco¡¯s experience, Tolbert has a similar skillset.
He stole 243 bases in his Minor League career and only got caught 16 times. In 2022, with High-A Quad Cities, Tolbert was 60-for-60 in stolen-base attempts. In 2024, he was the Royals' Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year award winner.
When Tolbert entered Friday night¡¯s game as a pinch-runner, he swiped second and third base for his first two career bags in the Majors. He added two more stolen bases in the seventh inning of the Royals' 4-1 win over the Orioles on Sunday.
Tolbert¡¯s bat has been more of a work in progress since he was drafted. He¡¯s a career .245 hitter in the Minors with a .692 OPS, but he¡¯s progressed the past few years and was the Royals¡¯ 2023 George Brett Hitter of the Year.
¡°When I got drafted, I knew that my legs could carry me to the big leagues,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°Everything else had to develop. But I really try to be elite with my baserunning.¡±
Along the way, the 27-year-old Tolbert watched much of his Draft class become core players in K.C., including Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey and Vinnie Pasquantino. Tolbert¡¯s perseverance never wavered.
¡°God has His timing, and everything has a reason,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°... It motivated me more to get here. Stay on the grind, build it brick by brick and then one day, it¡¯ll all come together. My journey may take longer than others. We had to go to different places to get there. But I wouldn¡¯t change it for the world.¡±
Tolbert learned lessons at every stop. Here are three that stand out:
Location: Brisbane, Australia, 2022-23
Lesson: Play your game
Tolbert was in the midst of learning center field in the Royals¡¯ Minor Leagues and needed more reps out there, so he thought about ways to get more playing time during the offseason. The solution was hopping on a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane.
In this case, the journey was long. But worth it.
¡°It¡¯s a wild time down there,¡± Tolbert said, laughing.
The Australian Baseball League was Tolbert¡¯s first foray into a new league, and at 24 years old, he was one of the youngest players for the Brisbane Bandits. His teammates and opponents came from all over the world, including former MLB, Korean and Japanese players.
Because of that, Tolbert was surrounded by different styles of baseball. Through conversations with his teammates and coaches, Tolbert learned that he brings value with his own skillset. Playing in the AUBL even exposed him to travel logistics that have come in handy now.
¡°I learned to be myself and be free,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°I just took it all in. And then I learned a lot about how to be a big leaguer, what it was going to be like. Learning how to fly and getting off the plane and playing that day or the next day. You don¡¯t get that in the Minor Leagues in the States.¡±
Location: San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, 2024-25
Lesson: Embrace the environment
While Tolbert played with and against a lot of big league talent in the D.R., like he did in Australia, winter ball with the Gigantes will stick with him for an entirely different reason.
¡°The environment,¡± Tolbert said, ¡°is crazy.¡±
In the Dominican, Tolbert wanted to expose himself to fans¡¯ cheers and jeers and learn how to block out that noise when he stepped onto the field. He hoped it would get him ready for a big league opportunity.
¡°Every game was Game 7 of the World Series,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°Every game mattered. You do whatever it takes to win. You do your job to win. Having that mindset, learning how we¡¯re going to prepare, how we¡¯re going to win this game, it was all important.
¡°And it was loud. Learning how to play in that and having fun in it was so much fun.¡±
Location: Springdale, Ark., 2024
Lesson: Trust the process
Tolbert began 2024 in Triple-A, riding high after being named the Royals' Minor League hitter of the year and a solid offseason in Australia.
But by early May, Tolbert was hitting .135 with 26 strikeouts in 74 at-bats. On May 7, the Royals sent him back to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
¡°No one wants to go through that,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°But I learned a lot about myself. One foot in front of the other, step by step. But I had to slow it down and really simplify the game.¡±
When Royals coaches and officials checked on Tolbert, he reassured them that he would figure it out. It took some time, but by the middle of summer, Tolbert saw success again. He hit .294 in June and July and had a .282/.350/.365 slash line from June 1 until he went back up to Triple-A to finish out the season.
¡°Going through that last year helped me in a mental space, knowing that I can work through something like that,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°Whatever the challenge is, whatever you go through in baseball or getting to the big leagues now, just, ¡®Hey, focus on one day at a time. Focus on the process.¡¯¡±