Introduction
Tyler Ryan Jay (born April 19, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization. He played college baseball at the University of Illinois. He was drafted by the Twins in the first round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.
Career
Jay attended Lemont High School in Lemont, Illinois. He played both baseball and football at Lemont. Jay committed to the University of Illinois to play college baseball for the Fighting Illini. As a freshman, he appeared in 18 games, going 1–3 with a 3.10 earned run average (ERA) and 20 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2014, he took over as the closer and had 10 saves, a 1.94 ERA and 47 strikeouts. After the season, Jay played for the United States collegiate national team during the summer. As a junior in 2015, he had a 1.08 ERA, 76 strikeouts and 14 saves.
Jay was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. The Minnesota Twins selected him with the sixth overall pick. He officially signed with the Twins on June 17. The Twins transitioned Jay into a starting pitcher with the Fort Myers Miracle of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2016.