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<p>The words still weigh on Tyler Austin, as if they were spoken yesterday.</p><p>He was a high school senior with a bright baseball future ahead of him when he noticed an abnormal lump.</p><p>He went to get checked. And he was told he had testicular cancer.</p><p>&#8221;It was tough going for me,&#8221; Austin said. &#8220;It&#8217;s shocking, to get told that news as a 17-year-old. I try not to think about it.</p><p>&#8220;It was a tough time in my life.&#8221;</p><p>These days, he lets his bat do most of the talking.</p><p>As a rising star in the New York Yankees organization, Austin already has 12 homers, 19 doubles, 41 RBI and leads the team with a .312 batting average during his second Triple-A season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.</p><p>It&#8217;s a season that may not have happened if Austin had ignored the warning signs, as testicular cancer can be life-threatening.</p><p>It can also be overcome.</p><p>Another former Yankees top prospect, Mike Lowell, went on to have a long and successful major league career with the Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins and professional cyclist Lance Armstrong &#8212; despite later having his reputation tarnished by admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs &#8212; raised cancer awareness around the globe by winning seven Tour de France titles.</p><p>Austin just wanted a shot to make a mark in the minor leagues.</p><p>Regarded as one of the top players in his native Georgia, Austin was diagnosed with cancer just before the 2010 Amateur Baseball Draft.</p><p>But the way he saw it, that was just one strike against him.</p><p>Austin underwent successful surgery to remove the tumor and played in a high school showcase game just a week after undergoing the surgery.</p><p>The Yankees drafted Austin in the 13th round and he&#8217;s remained cancer-free ever since.</p><p>But the ordeal helped mold him.</p><p>Austin is quick to sign autographs and chat up fans while quickly becoming one of the team&#8217;s most popular players.</p><p>Maybe that&#8217;s because he&#8217;s genuinely grateful for the opportunity to share his passion for the game with anyone he encounters, because there once was a time when his career was in doubt.</p><p>&#8220;Baseball is something I love to do,&#8221; said Austin, now 24, who has primarily been stationed at first base for the RailRiders but can also play in the outfield or at third base. &#8220;I really enjoy being out there every day. I think it (the cancer scare) makes me love the game a little more.&#8221;</p><p>The RailRiders love his bat.</p><p>Just within the past week, Austin&#8217;s bases-clearing, three-run double paved the way for one victory and his mammoth home run off the pedestrian bridge behind the RailRiders bullpen at PNC Field put an exclamation point on another win.</p><p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;ve got a little more in the tank,&#8221; Austin grinned, &#8220;but I put a good swing on that and hit it well. That&#8217;s what I go up there to do.&#8221;</p><p>It seems like he&#8217;s figuring out Triple-A pitching.</p><p>After hitting .299 for the RailRiders last season, Austin is quickly becoming a player worth watching in the Yankees organization. He split time between Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Trenton this season, but is making the most of his time in Triple-A.</p><p>Austin leads the RailRiders in slugging percentage (.637) and batting average, ranks second among RailRiders in homers and on base percentage (.414), is fourth on the team with 41 RBI and has even stolen five bases.</p><p>Those are the kind of numbers that can rekindle the interest of the parent Yankees.</p><p>A former top prospect in the organization, Austin was designated for assignment at the end of last year and decided to remain with the Yankees organization.</p><p>&#8220;This team, one through nine, can flat-out hit,&#8221; Austin said. &#8220;I&#8217;m just trying to have quality at-bats. and stay with that same approach.</p><p>&#8220;Things have been working out.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tyler Austin is making a habit of trotting around the bases for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, as his 12 home runs rank second on the team. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL041315RailRiders_1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tyler Austin is making a habit of trotting around the bases for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, as his 12 home runs rank second on the team. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL041015ball-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tyler Austin signs autographs for Trevor Thomas and Dino DiMauro earlier this year. Austin has become a RailRiders regular for autograph seekers at PNC Field. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL041015ball-2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tyler Austin signs autographs for Trevor Thomas and Dino DiMauro earlier this year. Austin has become a RailRiders regular for autograph seekers at PNC Field. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL052415RailRiders_spt_1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders first baseman Tyler Austin, left, completes one of his five steals this season. Austin didn&#8217;t let a battle with cancer as a teenager knock him down and out, and he&#8217;s turned into one of the RailRiders&#8217; top sluggers. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL052415RailRiders_spt_1-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders first baseman Tyler Austin, left, completes one of his five steals this season. Austin didn&#8217;t let a battle with cancer as a teenager knock him down and out, and he&#8217;s turned into one of the RailRiders&#8217; top sluggers. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Cancer survivor Tyler Austin thriving with RailRiders