Kelby Tomlinson

Kelby Aaron Tomlinson

• Bats' Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 180 lb.
• School Texas Tech University
• High School Elgin (OK) High School
• Debut August 3, 2015
• Final Game September 30, 2018
• Born June 16, 1990 in Chickasha, OK USA

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Biographical Information

Kelby Tomlinson's first major league home run for the San Francisco Giants was a grand slam against James Russell in a 9-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on August 27, 2015. He had been called up from the minors at the beginning of the month because of an injury to starter Joe Panik and was used regularly at second base in his absence. In his debut on August 3rd, he hit a single as a pinch-hitter against Ross Detwiler of the Atlanta Braves in the 12th inning and came in to score the goo-ahead run, but the Giants allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to lose the game, 9-8. He then made his first start against those same Braves two days later, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in a 6-1 win. At first, he shared playing time with Ehire Adrianza, but he went on an 8-game hitting streak starting on August 13th to take sole possession of the job. A day after hitting his first homer, he delivered a game-ending hit with a 9th-inning bases loaded single against Kevin Siegrist of the St. Louis Cardinals in a 5-4 Giants win.

Tomlinson was a 12th-round selection by the Giants in the 2011 amateur draft, out of Texas Tech University. He made an excellent first impression by hitting .357 in 37 games for the AZL Giants that first season. 2012 was a bit tougher, as he hit only .224 in 123 games for the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League, but he stole 36 bases, scored 57 runs and drew 53 walks, so he was contributing in other areas in spite of the low BA. He played shortstop exclusively that season. In 2013, he missed about half the season because of injuries, being limited to 72 games. His time was split almost evenly between the San Jose Giants of the California League and Richmond Flying Squirrels of the AA Eastern League. He hit .276 in Class A, but only .198 in AA. In 2014, he played a full season with Richmond, logging 126 games with a batting line of .268/.340/.323. he scored 63 runs and stole 49 bases, showing some very good lead-off skills. In the field, he split his time between second base and shortstop. He began 2015 back with Richmond, and after hitting .324 in 64 games, he was promoted to the AAA Sacramento RiverCats on June 26th. He continued to hit well there and was at.316 after 33 games when he got the call to the Show.

Related Sites

• Kelby Tomlinson on mlb.com