Tyler Austin Eppler (born January 5, 1993) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the

Fubon Guardians The Fubon Guardians () are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The team is owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co. and play their home games at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City. H ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...

(CPBL). He previously played for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

(NPB).

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Eppler attended Navasota High School in

Navasota, Texas Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,643 at the 2020 census. In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native ...

, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at Texarkana College and Sam Houston State University. The

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

selected Eppler in the sixth round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He signed with the Pirates on June 11, 2014, for a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

worth $200,000. Eppler made his professional debut with the

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team playe ...

, pitching in 14 games, posting a 2.49 ERA. He played 2015 with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

and

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

, going 6–2 with a 3.14 ERA in 15 games. After the season he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

. He spent 2016 with Altoona, pitching to a 9–1 record and 3.99 ERA in a career high 162.1 innings pitched. He spent 2017 with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opene ...

, posting an 8–9 record with a 4.89 ERA. Eppler returned to the Indians in 2018, going 13–6 with a 3.59 ERA in 28 games (25 starts).

Orix Buffaloes

On January 15, 2019, the

purchased Eppler's contract from the Pirates. On December 2, 2019, he become free agent.

Washington Nationals

On January 9, 2020, Eppler signed a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

. Eppler did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In 2021, Eppler appeared in 19 games for the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...

, posting a 7.75 ERA with 48 strikeouts. On August 24, 2021, Eppler was released by the Nationals.

Kiwoom Heroes

On December 17, 2021, Eppler signed a one-year, $400,000 deal with the

Kiwoom Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of S ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are ...

. He became a free agent after the 2022 season.

Fubon Guardians

On January 5, 2023, Eppler signed with the

of the

Personal life

His younger brother,

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire * Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire * Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bed ...

, plays quarterback for the

Fundidores de Monterrey Fundidores de Monterrey (English: ''Monterrey Smelters''), officially Fundidores, are an American football team based in Monterrey, Mexico. The Fundidores compete in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the top American football league ...

References

External links

Sam Houston State Bearkats bio
* 1993 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Altoona Curve players Baseball players from Texas Bradenton Marauders players Glendale Desert Dogs players Indianapolis Indians players Jamestown Jammers players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Orix Buffaloes players People from Navasota, Texas Rochester Red Wings players Sam Houston Bearkats baseball players Texarkana Bulldogs baseball players Rochester Honkers players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1990s-stub