Once a shortstop, he grinded for years in indy ball. Now he’s a legit relief prospect

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It would have been easy for Tyler LaPorte to bid goodbye to his dream.

When he shredded his elbow after moving to the mound and making just four pitching appearances as a college senior at Southern. When he got hurt again with the independent Lancaster Stormers during his second pro season and they released him in the middle of his third. When he was nearly 28 and still waiting for a big league organization to give him a glimmer of hope.

"It was extremely hard," LaPorte said. "But when you're surrounded by great people and you have a strong support system, it's pretty easy to keep going. And having a processed, focused mindset, a growth mindset and just being optimistic.

"I had an old indy ball veteran, Garrett Granitz, he would always tell me, you're not that far away. He was a submarine guy, played 10 years in indy ball. And he would always tell me that, and it just kind of stuck with me."

LaPorte's perseverance finally paid off when the Braves signed him in February 2025. After two years in the Minors, he headed to the Arizona Fall League. Though he was the oldest player in the developmental circuit this season at age 29, he's a legitimate relief prospect.

Solely a shortstop in high school and for much of his college career at Baton Rouge Community College and Southern, LaPorte batted .377 and won Southwestern Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year accolades as a senior in 2019. While he lacked the physicality (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) or offensive impact to attract pro scouts as a position player, there was an alternate path.

"I always had a great arm and my coaches had always mentioned that, so I kind of kept that in mind," LaPorte said. "I was extremely undersized as a shortstop, so I figured when I blew my arm out, if I gained some weight and gained some strength and filled out my body, I could throw much harder and maybe make it to the top as a pitcher."

LaPorte took the mound just four times at Southern in 2019, displaying an 87-91 mph fastball before injuring his elbow and requiring Tommy John surgery. He rehabbed during the pandemic shutdown in 2020, then returned to the mound in the MLB Draft League the following year. He averaged 93 mph and touched 96 with his fastball and showed signs of an interesting slider, but big league organizations weren't interested in a 24-year-old with almost no track record as a pitcher.

Refusing to let his dream die, LaPorte signed with Lancaster in the independent Atlantic League. He recorded a 6.63 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Stormers, missing most of 2022 with a flexor strain. But he believed he was making progress, especially when he started working with Braden Bristo.

A fellow Louisianan, Bristo was a right-hander in the Yankees' system looking for a throwing partner following the 2022 season. A mutual friend introduced LaPorte to Bristo, who would pitch in three Major League games for the Tigers and Rays in 2023.

"I was thankful to cross paths with Braden Bristo," LaPorte said. "We threw together one offseason and then the next offseason again, and he really taught me how to go about my business as a professional. He was the main guy who showed me how to spin it. Changeup as well, he taught me how to throw that. Big league sinker, he taught me how to throw that."

LaPorte landed with the Windy City Thunderbolts of the independent Frontier League in mid-2023 and emerged as their closer the next summer, leading to his opportunity with the Braves. He has made the most of it, compiling a 2.41 ERA with 121 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings while reaching Double-A before joining the AFL's Glendale Desert Dogs.

LaPorte posted a 1.00 ERA, .161 average against and 11 strikeouts in nine Fall League innings. He operated at 96 mph and touched 98 while generating weak contact with his two- and four-seam fastballs, while his high-spin, low-80s slider missed bats. His upper-70s curveball and upper-80s changeup lag behind the rest of his repertoire, though his biggest need is to provide more consistent strikes.

With his fastball/slider combo, LaPorter has the stuff to work in a big league bullpen if he can control and command it more reliably. After it took him years to get a chance, the AFL has reinforced that the Majors are within reach.

"No doubt, man, no doubt, especially coming to compete with all this young talent," LaPorte said. "These guys will be in the big leagues within a few years, so it's good to test my arsenal against them. I know I can get outs at the big league level."