Career
Tolbert attended Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville,Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB),where he played college baseball for the Blazers. [1] The Kansas City Royals selected him in the 13th round,with the 379th overall pick,of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. [2] He split his first professional season between the rookie-level Arizona League Royals and Idaho Falls Chukars,hitting .253 with 24 RBI and 28 stolen bases over 50 games.
Tolbert did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] He returned to action in 2021 with the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Royals,Single-A Columbia Fireflies,and High-A Quad Cities River Bandits. In 89 appearances split between the three affiliates,Tolbert slashed .226/.355/.365 with six home runs,36 RBI,and 55 stolen bases. [4]
Playing for High-A Quad Cities in 2022,Tolbert stole 60 bases without being caught stealing;he also batted .224/.313/.340 with four home runs and 36 RBI. [5] In 2023,he was named the Royals' George Brett Hitter of the Year after posting a .755 on-base plus slugging for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. [2] In 2024,he stole 40 bases for Northwest Arkansas and eight bases for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers,winning the Royals' minor league baserunner of the year award. [6]
On March 31,2025,Tolbert was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. [7] He made his major league debut that day as a pinch hitter. [8] On April 4,Tolbert stole second base against the Baltimore Orioles,recording the first stolen base of his major league career. He also stole third base. [9] He started his first MLB game on April 16 after appearing as a substitute in 6 games. [10] On April 27,he was placed on the bereavement list,from which he was reinstated three days later. [11] On May 2,he was optioned to Triple-A Omaha after batting 0-for-5 but stealing six bases and scoring two runs for the Royals. [12] [13] [10] On July 23,Tolbert hit his first career home run off of Drew Pomeranz of the Chicago Cubs. [14]
Personal life
Tolbert's parents are Bernardo and Sherrye Tolbert. He has one sister,Taylor,who also has a career in sports. His cousin is professional football quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Another cousin,Stephen Dobbs,also played college baseball at UAB. Another cousin,Parker Washington,is a professional wide receiver. Washington's sister,Ashton Washington,is a scout for the Chicago Bears. [15] [16] [17]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
