Tyler Fitzgerald, a former University of Louisville baseball favorite, is more than earning his keep with the San Francisco Giants. He is, in fact, one of the hottest players in Major League Baseball at present.
Over the past 15 games, Fitzgerald has hit nine home runs, driven in 16 runs, while batting .351. He has an on-base percentage of .413 and a slugging percentage of .921. On Sunday, he had two hits, including his two-run home run in an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. For the season, he has a total of 10 home runs and a .326 batting average.
At one point, he had five home runs in five straight games, the first San Francisco player to do that since Barry Bonds. The others were Willie Mays, Robby Thompson, Mel Ott, Jack Clark and George Kelly.
The son of Mike Fitzgerald, a former St. Louis Cardinal, Tyler was called up from the Sacramento River Cats on June 28. He is currently at shortstop but has split his time between the infield and outfield.
A native of Springfield, Ill., Fitzgerald played for UoflL from 2016 through the 2019 season. He was a fourth round pick by the Giants in the 2019 MLB draft. During his senior year, he batted .315, had eight home runs and led the team with 65 runs batted in.
Fitzgerald and Louisville were in the College World Series in 2019, winning eight games before being eliminated 3-2 by Vanderbilt in the semifinals.