Ka'ai Tom

BIOGRAPHY

Ka'ai Tom was born May 29, 1994, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a center fielder in the MLB.

Tom graduated from Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he played baseball and football, in 2012. He was teammates with future Heisman Trophy winner and NFL first round pick Marcus Mariota. After going undrafted in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas where he played college baseball. After his freshman year, he transferred to the University of Kentucky and joined their baseball team. In 2015, as a junior, he batted .375 with five home runs, 51 RBIs, 15 doubles and 16 stolen bases. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.

Tom signed and made his professional debut that same season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers where he batted .283 with three home runs and 29 RBIs in 66 games. He played in only 28 games in 2016, with the Lake County Captains, due to injury. In 2017, he played with the Lynchburg Hillcats where he slashed .254/.340/.418 with ten home runs, 65 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases in 126 games, and in 2018, he played for the Akron RubberDucks, batting .245 with 12 home runs and 64 RBIs in 121 games. He returned to Akron to begin 2019, with whom he was named an Eastern League All-Star as well as the Eastern League Player of the Month for May after hitting .333 with seven home runs in 26 games during the month. He was promoted to the Columbus Clippers in July, with whom he finished the year. Over 132 games between Akron and Columbus, Tom hit .290/.380/.532 with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs.