# Derek Hill (baseball)
**Derek Hill** (Derek Jerome Hill, born 1995 in [Sacramento, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacramento-california)) is an American professional baseball center fielder who has played in [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball) for the [Detroit Tigers](https://www.edgepedia.org/detroit-tigers), Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies. The Tigers selected him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California.[1](https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-select-derek-hill/c-78483698) • [2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, Sacramento, California; bats and throws right-handed[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill) |
| Draft | First round, 23rd overall, Detroit Tigers, 2014, from Elk Grove (CA) High School; signed for $2,000,000[1](https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-select-derek-hill/c-78483698) • [3](https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.fcgi?draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year&team_ID=DET&year_ID=2014) |
| MLB debut | September 4, 2020, with Detroit; hit .091 (1-for-11) in 15 games, used mainly as a pinch runner and defensive replacement[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill) |
| Career MLB line (through 2023) | .229/.279/.314 with 4 home runs, 18 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 108 games[4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf) |
| Minor-league speed | 186 career stolen bases in the minors, tied for 28th among all minor leaguers since his 2014 professional debut; led the Florida State League with 35 steals in 2018[4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537) |
| Family | Son of former minor league player and scout Orsino Hill; cousin of 17-year major league veteran Darryl Strawberry[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill) • [4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf) |
| Current team | Philadelphia Phillies, acquired from the Chicago White Sox on June 11, 2026[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537) |
## Amateur career and draft
Hill played center field at Elk Grove High School, where as a senior in 2014 he hit .500 (47-for-94) with 26 runs scored, 11 doubles, seven triples, and 30 RBI, stole 29 bases, and posted a .586 on-base percentage.[1](https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-select-derek-hill/c-78483698) [Baseball America](https://www.edgepedia.org/baseball-america) rated him the sixth-best outfield prospect and the 22nd-best prospect overall available in that year's draft, and the Tigers took him with their first pick, 23rd overall, on June 6, 2014.[1](https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-select-derek-hill/c-78483698) He signed on June 17 for a $2,000,000 bonus and debuted professionally with the Gulf Coast League Tigers.[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill) • [3](https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.fcgi?draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year&team_ID=DET&year_ID=2014)
His athleticism was the basis of the draft stock. At a Perfect Game showcase in June 2013 he ran the 60-yard dash in 6.44 seconds and threw 92 mph from the outfield, results in the 99th and 95th percentiles of his class, and scouts described top-level defensive tools at a premium position.[6](https://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=321156) Tigers scouting executive David Chadd called him "an excellent hitter, a great defensive outfielder" with "electric speed."[1](https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-select-derek-hill/c-78483698)
## Minor league career
**Injuries shaped his development.** Hill's early professional seasons were interrupted repeatedly: back and quadriceps problems in his first two years, a right elbow ulnar collateral ligament injury that cost him most of 2017 and required [Tommy John](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-john) surgery, and shorter absences in other seasons.[7](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/7099-derek-hill/) • [8](https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-hill-happy-to-arrive-at-tigers-spring-camp) The 2019 season at Double-A Erie was his first without an injured-list stint, and he hit .243 with a .705 OPS and 14 home runs while producing highlight-reel catches, including a diving grab that helped preserve Casey Mize's no-hitter in April 2019.[8](https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-hill-happy-to-arrive-at-tigers-spring-camp)
His speed showed in the stolen-base columns. He ranked second in the Midwest League with 35 steals at Single-A West Michigan in 2016, then led the Florida State League with 35 steals at Single-A Lakeland in 2018.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537) Baseball America's July 2020 scouting report called him an explosive athlete with plus-plus speed and outstanding defensive skills in center field, while judging him a below-average hitter who swung and missed too often to play every day without significant improvement.[7](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/7099-derek-hill/)
## Major league career
**Detroit.** Hill reached the majors late in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after spending the first six weeks at the Tigers' alternate training site. In 15 games he hit .091, going 1-for-11, and was used mainly as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in center field.[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill) His fullest big-league season came in 2021, when he stole a base in three straight games in June, the first Tiger to do so since Niko Goodrum in 2018, hit his first home run on August 8 at Cleveland, and recorded his first career walk-off hit, a double in the 11th inning on September 14 against [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee). Three injured-list stints limited him to 49 games.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537)
**Jourman years.** Through 2023 he had appeared in parts of four major league seasons, all with Detroit, posting a .229/.279/.314 slash line with 4 home runs, 18 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 108 games.[4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf) He spent time in the Seattle (2022) and Washington (2023) organizations before signing a minor league contract with Texas on December 27, 2023.[4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf) The Rangers selected his contract on June 26, 2024, and designated him for assignment on July 20, 2024, after right shoulder soreness landed him on the injured list.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537)
**Miami, Chicago, and Philadelphia.** Across a personal-best 57 games split between Miami and the White Sox in 2025, he batted .216/.281/.328 (29-for-134), tallying six doubles, three home runs, and 11 RBI, while every one of his 54 appearances came in center field and he posted eight defensive runs saved. Injuries again intervened: left wrist sprains, a left middle finger sprain, and a right hamstring strain each cost him time, and Miami designated him for assignment on September 22, 2025, with the White Sox claiming him off waivers two days later.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537) • [9](https://www.milb.com/player/derek-hill-656537) On June 11, 2026, the White Sox traded Hill and international bonus money to the [Philadelphia Phillies](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-phillies) for outfielder Dylan Campbell and infielder Jose Colmenares.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537)
With Philadelphia he found more regular playing time. In the 2026 regular season he batted .241 with 11 home runs, 31 RBI, and 13 stolen bases in 199 at-bats, and his defensive plays, including a home-run robbery of [Juan Soto](https://www.edgepedia.org/juan-soto), drew national attention.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537)
## Scouting profile and playing style
Hill's value has rested on defense and speed rather than offense. MLB Pipeline descriptions of him as a prospect included "the fastest player in the system" and "a true center fielder," and Baseball America repeatedly cited him in Tigers organizational superlatives: Best Defensive Outfielder (2018-21), Best Athlete (2018), and Fastest Baserunner (2018-19).[4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf) • [10](https://www.mlb.com/cut4/tigers-prospect-derek-hill-makes-willie-mays-catch-c182083686) His aggressive style of chasing balls in the air produced spectacular catches but also contributed to injuries that repeatedly slowed his career.[8](https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-hill-happy-to-arrive-at-tigers-spring-camp) When drafted he was compared to [Torii Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/torii-hunter), then a Tigers outfielder, whose own slow-developing offensive game and subsequent 18-year major league career was cited as a lesson in patience.[8](https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-hill-happy-to-arrive-at-tigers-spring-camp)
## Personal life
Hill is the son of Orsino Hill, a former minor league player who became a scout, and a cousin of [Darryl Strawberry](https://www.edgepedia.org/darryl-strawberry), who hit 335 home runs over a 17-year career from 1983 to 1999.[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill) • [11](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537?msockid=19c925342eea606418e633882f8661e3) He married his wife, Blaire, on January 12, 2024, in [Cabo San Lucas](https://www.edgepedia.org/cabo-san-lucas), Mexico, and graduated from Elk Grove High School.[4](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf)
## References
1. [Tigers select Derek Hill, MLB.com (June 6, 2014)](https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-select-derek-hill/c-78483698)
2. [Derek Hill, BR Bullpen, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill)
3. [2014 Detroit Tigers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.fcgi?draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year&team_ID=DET&year_ID=2014)
4. [Texas Rangers media guide entry for Derek Hill, MLB.com](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/eroduvnyojdborhz6jsk.pdf)
5. [Derek Hill Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537)
6. [Derek Hill Class of 2014 Player Profile, Perfect Game USA](https://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=321156)
7. [Derek Hill Stats & Scouting Report, Baseball America (July 2020)](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/7099-derek-hill/)
8. [Hill enjoys long-awaited arrival to Tigers camp, MLB.com (February 21, 2020)](https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-hill-happy-to-arrive-at-tigers-spring-camp)
9. [Derek Hill player page with transactions, MiLB.com](https://www.milb.com/player/derek-hill-656537)
10. [Tigers prospect Derek Hill beefed up his scouting report with a spot-on Willie Mays impression, MLB.com Cut4 (June 4, 2016)](https://www.mlb.com/cut4/tigers-prospect-derek-hill-makes-willie-mays-catch-c182083686)
11. [Derek Hill player page, MLB.com (family note on Darryl Strawberry)](https://www.mlb.com/player/derek-hill-656537?msockid=19c925342eea606418e633882f8661e3)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Outfielders › Outfielders active since 2000 › Surnames A to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license