Camas High graduate signs with San Francisco Giants

“Their cross-checker saw me play last summer at the Northwest Scout Games, and I did very well at that tournament,” Tyler said. “Their interest was sparked, and I kept communicating with them. There were a lot of unknowns, but they stayed in touch and walked me through the whole process.”

In a “normal” year, Tyler most likely would’ve been drafted, assigned to one of his organization’s minor league teams and began his pro career this summer. After the Minor League Baseball season was canceled due the pandemic, however, Tyler can’t do anything but wait for the Giants to decide what they want to do with him and the rest of their minor leaguers.

Forner hopes to visit the Giants’ spring training complex in Scottsdale, Arizona, at some point this summer, but has no set timeline for doing so; the complex is closed indefinitely for deep cleaning after recent virus outbreaks. Tyler has no idea what kind of competitive experience — if any — he’ll get this summer.

“Things are completely different this year,” he said. “I’ve heard some rumors, but (the situation) is a little unknown. I trust what God has in store and that everything will fall into place. I get to call baseball my job now, so I can wait here. I have no problem waiting for the call.”

Tyler’s talents have long been known in the Camas athletic community. At CHS he was a two-sport star, earning first-team all-4A Greater St. Helens League honors as an outfielder and all-state accolades as a linebacker in 2019.

“I’m more comfortable with the player that I am,” he said. “When I was younger, I focused on my speed and getting on base, but now I’m using my strength more to take the ball out of the yard and hit with more power. I’m using all of my tools instead of honing in on just one of them, and branching out and using them in different ways.”

And now he’ll have a chance to “branch out” even more as a professional. For the first time in his life, he’ll be able to focus on baseball year-round.

“Most Division-I athletes who are drafted spend 12 months out of the year playing baseball,” said Nik Lubisich, Forner’s coach for the Vancouver-based Northwest Futures academy. “He’s never given baseball his full attention, and that’s why he was largely an unknown commodity at the national level. He wasn’t participating in the big events like the Perfect Game and PBR. But now that baseball is his job, and he can give it his full attention, I think we’ll see spikes in the progression of his improvement.”

Tyler plays “a very aggressive style of baseball,” according to Papermakers coach Stephen Short. “He brings a football mentality to the baseball field, which is awesome.”

“He’s what I would call a game-wrecker,” Lubisich said. “He destroys a box score. He dominated the high school level, and I think he would’ve dominated college level. His speed/power combination is a rare thing to find. He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s got a lot of upside. He has a chance to be a complete stud. He’s a special talent.”

Tyler doesn’t define himself solely by his athletic accomplishments, however.

“A lot of people know what a great athlete he is, but people who don’t know he’s a great athlete will talk about the kind of character that he has,” Lubisich said. “He will be a leader in an organization. That’s one of the big reasons why the Giants fell in love with him. On the Zoom calls, (Giants executives) kept talking about his personality and confidence and character. Those things matter to them.”

They also love Forner’s intensity. During a Zoom call, Giants general manager Scott Harris told Forner that he watched a video of Forner hitting off a tee. ‘’He did a bat flip, turned to the camera and flexed,” Wade said. “(Harris) said, ‘I want that.’”

But in order to reach his potential, Tyler has had to learn to focus his emotions so they work for him instead of against him.

“There’s always been a fire inside of him,” Wade said. “He wants to compete and win and work hard all the time to get better. He’s driven. I’ve never had to encourage him to try harder. But one day Nik told me, ‘The thing that can make him great is also the same thing that could stop him from where he wants to go.’ He had to learn to keep that fire inside of him without showing it on the outside. (We told him that he had) to control his intensity, because it could show up as weaknesses or a (sign of) disrespect.”

Tyler has already attracted the attention of not only the Giants’ leaders, but baseball analysts and media members in the Bay Area. A recent headline on KNBR.com reads, “Giants might have a ‘steal’ in undrafted free agent Tyler Forner.”

And he’s already dreaming of making many more visits to Oracle Park in the future — as a player, not a fan.

“I wouldn’t put it past him to make it (to the major leagues),” Short said. “He doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. He’s a very religious person, puts his faith in God, has his own goals and is set on accomplishing them. He’ll be successful in whatever chooses to do, but if you ask him, there’s only one thing that he’s going to be doing as a professional — play baseball.”