Tyler Naquin took another step in his transformation from a first-round pick and major-league outfielder to a pitcher.

July 8, the Captains announced Naquin was promoted by the Guardians from the Arizona Complex Guardians to High Single-A Lake County.

Naquin is now 34 years old. He was originally drafted by Cleveland more than a decade ago in 2012 with the No. 15 overall pick out of Texas A&M.

He was promoted to the big leagues in 2016 and played in the majors for eight seasons until 2023. Naquin spent five seasons with Cleveland from 2016 to 2020. His most productive season was in 2021 with the Reds, when he hit 19 home runs, drove in 70 runs and batted .270.

A Captains reunion 13 years in the making! 🫡

After playing outfielder for the Captains during the 2012 Midwest League Playoffs…

Tyler Naquin has returned to Lake County as a right-handed pitcher! 🔥

Welcome back, Tyler! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/t0vGNUUOHs

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) July 8, 2025

Instead of walking away from the game after playing five games with the White Sox in 2023, Naquin sat out the entire 2024 season while reinventing himself as a pitcher.

March 6 of this year, he signed with the Guardians as a minor-league free agent and has spent his time in Arizona.

Naquin recalls his decision to make an attempt at becoming a pitcher while working out with his friend Clay Tillman at Texas A&M.

“I just looked at him and I said, ‘I think I’m gonna pitch,’” Naquin said in an MLB.com story in March. “We went and picked up a glove, and we started playing catch. And it was as simple as that, to be honest with you. It was pretty quick.”

Naquin told MLB.com he was a pitcher for a short while in high school and then also shortly at Texas A&M before becoming an outfielder, a decision that led to him becoming a first-round draft pick.

While working at his new craft in Arizona, Naquin’s velocity on his fastball has, according to multiple reports, registered in the mid-90s.

In his first professional season as a pitcher, Naquin made 13 relief appearances for the Arizona Guardians. The right-hander has a 2-0 record with a 5.14 ERA, and eight strikeouts and 11 walks allowed in 14 innings. Opponents hit .170 against Naquin.

Naquin’s arrival in Lake County is unique. It was 13 years ago that Naquin played five games for the Captains during the 2012 Midwest League Playoffs. He batted .353 with six hits, five runs, two doubles and an RBI.

As a rookie in 2016 with Cleveland, Naquin showed plenty of promise with 14 homers, 43 RBI, 18 doubles, five triples, 52 runs and a .296 batting average in 116 games but never matched those numbers during his time with the Indians.

Arguably, Naquin’s most unforgettable moment was in his rookie season in a game against the Blue Jays. Cleveland trailed, 2-1, in the bottom of the ninth until Jose Ramirez tied the game at 2 with a solo home run.

Naquin followed with a shot to right field that caromed off the wall, allowed him to score on an inside-the-park walkoff homer and set off a wild celebration at home plate in front of a raucous crowd at Progressive Field.

Originally Published: July 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM EDT