And who wouldn't want to get a look at White? In the three venues in which he played, he hit a combined .322/.406/.456 with 14 doubles, six home runs and a whopping 52 RBI in only 64 games. He walked 27 times and only struck out 24 times. White turned 23 earlier this week.
I reached out to White via email to ask him about his whirlwind season and this is what he had to say ~
WTHB: Can you tell me something about your draft experience? Did you know that the Astros were interested? Were you drafted as a junior?
TW: My draft experience was very good but also a little surprising. I had never talked to the Astros besides a medical questionnaire. I was a senior sign for the Astros. I had never talked to any teams before this year and had only spoken to one other team this year.
WTHB: What was the biggest surprise for you in your first season of professional ball?
TW: The biggest surprise was how every time I was promoted to a different level I started playing the day I was moved up and batted in the 3 hole. There was no transition period to the team or anything like that.
WTHB: This season you walked more than you struck out and you hit equally well against right-handed pitchers as you did lefties. [Note: Tyler is a right-handed hitter.] You were also rather good with RISP (which was reflected in a healthy RBI total). Was all of that the case in college?
TW: The only difference from college to pro ball was my hitting off of lefties. In college my numbers against LHP were very good. In college, my final two years, I was very good with RISP, and my senior year I believe I was second in the conference with 66 RBIs on the season.
WTHB: Since I haven't seen you play yet, can you tell me what I will see when I do?
TW: I am not your typical looking baseball player, I am a big guy that gives 100 percent, and actually plays a lot more athletic than I look. [Note: Tyler is listed as 5'11" 225lbs.]
WTHB: You were in the unique position of getting two quick promotions this season so you saw a lot of Astros farmhands. Were there a couple of players (new or established) who really stood out?
TW: Some of the players that really stood out to me were Michael Feliz as a pitcher. He sat 94-96 touching 97 with good control and a pretty good secondary pitch. The position player I came across that stood out was Teoscar Hernandez. He had a lot of power and also very good tools for a very young player.
WTHB: What pitcher that you saw on the three teams you played for would you least like to hit against?
TW: Probably [LHP Reymin] Guduan or [RHP Jandel] Gustave. They are pitchers that throw very hard and are effectively wild.
WTHB: What would you do if you couldn't play baseball?
TW: If I couldn’t play baseball, I would probably be coaching and giving lessons. I would also like to run an organization, whether it is kids ages 10 to 18 or a minor league type organization. I would love to be in charge of it and make sure it runs smoothly and still get to be around the game on a daily basis.
WTHB: Can you tell me something about yourself that most people don't know and might be surprised to hear?
TW: I don’t have very many big secrets or anything like that. Something that does normally surprise people is my athleticism, and I have always been pretty good at other sports. I started on my soccer team in high school, and I have always been pretty good at basketball, just didn’t want to waste time on it because that season was right before baseball season.
TW: My draft experience was very good but also a little surprising. I had never talked to the Astros besides a medical questionnaire. I was a senior sign for the Astros. I had never talked to any teams before this year and had only spoken to one other team this year.
WTHB: What was the biggest surprise for you in your first season of professional ball?
TW: The biggest surprise was how every time I was promoted to a different level I started playing the day I was moved up and batted in the 3 hole. There was no transition period to the team or anything like that.
WTHB: This season you walked more than you struck out and you hit equally well against right-handed pitchers as you did lefties. [Note: Tyler is a right-handed hitter.] You were also rather good with RISP (which was reflected in a healthy RBI total). Was all of that the case in college?
TW: The only difference from college to pro ball was my hitting off of lefties. In college my numbers against LHP were very good. In college, my final two years, I was very good with RISP, and my senior year I believe I was second in the conference with 66 RBIs on the season.
WTHB: Since I haven't seen you play yet, can you tell me what I will see when I do?
TW: I am not your typical looking baseball player, I am a big guy that gives 100 percent, and actually plays a lot more athletic than I look. [Note: Tyler is listed as 5'11" 225lbs.]
WTHB: You were in the unique position of getting two quick promotions this season so you saw a lot of Astros farmhands. Were there a couple of players (new or established) who really stood out?
TW: Some of the players that really stood out to me were Michael Feliz as a pitcher. He sat 94-96 touching 97 with good control and a pretty good secondary pitch. The position player I came across that stood out was Teoscar Hernandez. He had a lot of power and also very good tools for a very young player.
WTHB: What pitcher that you saw on the three teams you played for would you least like to hit against?
TW: Probably [LHP Reymin] Guduan or [RHP Jandel] Gustave. They are pitchers that throw very hard and are effectively wild.
WTHB: What would you do if you couldn't play baseball?
TW: If I couldn’t play baseball, I would probably be coaching and giving lessons. I would also like to run an organization, whether it is kids ages 10 to 18 or a minor league type organization. I would love to be in charge of it and make sure it runs smoothly and still get to be around the game on a daily basis.
WTHB: Can you tell me something about yourself that most people don't know and might be surprised to hear?
TW: I don’t have very many big secrets or anything like that. Something that does normally surprise people is my athleticism, and I have always been pretty good at other sports. I started on my soccer team in high school, and I have always been pretty good at basketball, just didn’t want to waste time on it because that season was right before baseball season.
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Thank you for your time, Tyler, and the best of luck in the 2014 season. If you stay still long enough, maybe I'll get to see you.
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