Daniel Schmidt

Daniel John Schmidt

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.

• High School South Fremantle High School

• Born April 27, 1988 in Cairns, Queensland Australia

BR register page

Biographical Information

Daniel Schmidt has pitched in the independent leagues and Australia as well as for the Australian national team.

He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies but had three surgeries and never made it into a game for their farm clubs. He was 1-0 with a save and a 3.77 ERA for Western Australia in the 2009 Claxton Shield. He pitched the decisive game in the finals, blanking New South Wales for 6 2/3 innings with only two hits. He was 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA the next year, finishing 8th in ERA, between Wayne Lundgren and Dylan Peacock. He made his US debut four years after signing with the Phillies, going 3-6 with a 5.67 ERA for the Grand Prairie AirHogs.

The Australian Baseball League was restarted in 2010-2011 and he turned in a 6-3, 2.97 campaign for the Perth Heat with only 11 walks in 60 2/3 innings. He tied Chris Mowday for the league lead in wins and was 5th in ERA among pitchers with 40+ IP (between Mowday and Brandon Maurer). That summer, he was with the Fort Worth Cats (2-1, 6.75 in 6 G) and Brockton Rox (2-0, 6.55 in 10 G).

With Perth in 2011-2012, he fell to 6-2, 4.08 but still led the ABL in wins again. In 2012-2013, the big lefty had a 7-3, 3.72 record. He was second in the league in wins, one behind Craig Anderson. In '13, he was with the Alexandria Aces (4-1, 3.32 in 9 G) and Edinburg Roadrunners (1-1, 2.41 in 4 G).

He again was a big winner in 2013-2014 at 6-2, 3.22. He tied Connor Whalen for 2nd in wins, one behind Jack Frawley. He slumped to 2-3, 5.82 in 2014-2015 and 3-7, 5.60 in 2015-2016. He tied Lundgren for the league lead losses the latter season. Things got worse from there - 1-3, 7.01 in 2016-2017.

The Heat kept him around, but moved him to the bullpen. He was marginally better in 2017-2018 (2-2, 6.49) but then was 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 2018-2019, his best campaign in years. He was sharper still in 2019-2020 (3-2, 4 Sv, 1.78 in 19 G). He was 5th in the ABL in appearances and tied Lucas Jacobsen and Cody Mincey for 6th in saves.

At age 31, he debuted for the Australian national team, at the 2019 Premier 12. He relieved Todd Van Steensel with a 4-0 deficit in the 8th against defending champion South Korea. He retired MLB vet Hyun-soo Kim and Byung-hun Min before Sam Street replaced him. His other outing came against 3rd-place finisher Mexico. He again replaced Van Steensel, this time with a 3-0 deficit in the 7th. He walked Noah Perio Jr., then gave way to Luke Wilkins.