Maple Ridge product Tyler O’Neill is to make his Major League Baseball debut Thursday for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
He was expected to be called up Wednesday, according to MLB.com, but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
#STLCards to call up No. 4 prospect (@MLB No. 94) Tyler O'Neill, who has been as hot as any hitter in @MiLB for the @memphisredbirds early on: https://t.co/CRZegRXJd9 pic.twitter.com/oKp7ngCZd6
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 18, 2018
O’Neill, who graduated from Garibaldi secondary in Maple Ridge and played for the Langley Blaze of the Premier Baseball League, is to be called up by the professional team on Thursday after starting the season in Memphis for the Cardinals’ AAA affiliate.
In 12 games there, he hit six home runs and recorded 13 runs scored, 18 batted in, and hit for a .388 average. Two of those homers came Monday in a 7-4 win over Iowa.
#STLCards prospect Tyler O'Neill jacks two more homers, is tied for the Minor League lead with six round-trippers: https://t.co/eVcVDdl5vH pic.twitter.com/bZmFfbNY0T
— MiLB.com (@MiLB) April 16, 2018
O’Neill, an outfielder, will likely be used in a reserve role in the majors, as regular centrefielder Tommy Pham suffered a minor groin injury on Tuesday.
O’Neill, 22, was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners, but was traded by the AL club to St. Louis last summer for left-hander Marco Gonzalez.
A right-handed hitter, O’Neill hit .246/.321/.499 with 31 home runs in his first season at AAA in 2017, including 12 home runs in 37 games for Memphis.
Oblique and hamstring injuries limited O’Neill to just 12 at-bats in Grapefruit League play this spring.