Tyler Viza

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.

• High School Desert Vista High School

• Born October 21, 1994 in Edinburgh Scotland

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tyler Viza has pitched as high as AAA and has been on the Great Britain national team.

Viza was born in Scotland but grew up in the US. Some sources mistakenly list him as being born in Phoenix. He was a 32nd-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2013 amateur draft, one round before Harrison Musgrave. He signed for a $160,000 bonus, more than their 8th-10th picks, so he likely had a strong college commitment that needed a large financial deal to sign, making him a risky selection. The scout was Brad Holland.

He was 1-0 with a 1.41 ERA in 12 games (6 starts) for the 2013 GCL Phillies for an excellent pro debut. Moving up to the Lakewood BlueClaws in '14, he was hammered - 3-17, 5.29. He led the South Atlantic League in losses (four more than Jamie Callahan) and hits allowed (172) but not runs or earned runs. He tied Zachary Bird for the most losses by a minor leaguer that summer.

In 2015, he improved to 5-10, 3.38 in a return engagement with Lakewood. He was 5th in the SAL in WHIP. He split 2016 between the Clearwater Threshers (6-2, 2.54 in 9 G) and Reading Fightin Phils (4-6, 4.69 in 16 G). He tied David Buchanan and Luke Leftwich for the 6th-most wins by a Phillies farmhand. He was 10-10 with a 5.22 ERA for Reading in 2017. He tied future major leaguers Tanner Anderson, Alex McRae and Sean Reid-Foley for 5th in the Eastern League in wins and tied Conner Greene for 9th in losses.

The right-hander split 2018 between Reading (3-5, 2.75 in 19 G) and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (1-1, 5.40 in his first five AAA games) with brief (presumably rehab) stints with the GCL Phillies East and GCL Phillies West, going 0-1 with no earned runs in four innings in the Gulf Coast League. He was 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. In '19, he struggled with Lehigh Valley (1-8, 7.23 in 19 G) and Reading (6 R, 5 ER in 5 IP). He became a free agent at the end of the year and nobody signed him for 2020 (the minor leagues were shut down that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing opportunities).

Returning to action in 2021, he was 6-2 with a 3.05 ERA for the independent Kane County Cougars. That earned him a deal with the San Diego Padres but he was 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA for the San Antonio Missions. He was picked up by the Minnesota Twins for 2022. After being unbeaten with the Wichita Wind Surge (5-0, 0.49 ERA in 9 G, 29 K in 18 1/3 IP) and St. Paul Saints (3-0, 7.08 in 15 G), he was next signed by the CTBC Brothers in Taiwan. He was 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA in five starts in the 2022 CPBL. He won Game 2 of the 2022 Taiwan Series, holding the Rakuten Monkeys to one unearned run in eight; the Brothers swept the Series.

Given his Scottish birthplace, he appeared for Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the country's first World Baseball Classic. He got the start against Colombia and began by whiffing Gustavo Campero. He allowed a second-inning unearned run when Meibrys Viloria reached on a Darnell Sweeney error, advanced on a grounder and scored on a Oscar Mercado hit. After three solid innings, he flagged in the 4th by issuing three straight walks to Viloria, Jordan Díaz and Mercado with one out. Graham Spraker relieved and let two of the inherited runners score, but Britain rallied to bail out Viza and get their first WBC win.