Shane Baz

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Shane Austin Baz

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Biographical Information[edit]

Shane Baz was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 12th pick of the first round in the 2017 amateur draft, after starring on the mound for a high school in Texas. He signed quickly, inking a deal on June 16th - less than a week after the draft - even though he had a commitment to attend Texas Christian University. His signing bonus was $4.1 million. He was assigned to the GCL Pirates to begin his career. he went 0-3, 3.80 in 10 starts, pitching 23 2/3 innings.

Baz started the 2018 season in the Appalachian League with the Bristol Pirates, where he 4-3, 3.97 in 10 starts. He had struck out 54 batters in 45 1/3 innings, although his walk rate was a bit high, at 23. On August 14th, he was revealed to be the player to be named later, alongside Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows, to head to the Tampa Bay Rays to complete the trade that had brought Chris Archer to Pittsburgh at the trading deadline two weeks earlier. That trade turned out to be disastrous for the Pirates, costing GM Neal Huntington his job, as Archer was never healthy, while both Glasnow and Meadows developed into star players in short order.

For Baz, it took a while longer to arrive, as he was finally called up to make his major league debut in the second half of September, 2021. Not pitching at all during the 2020 season, when the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, set him back some, as the talent was always there, but what he needed was to pitch some innings in the minor league to fully harness his raw stuff. He also got a chance to face some tough competition as part of Team USA when he took part in the 2020 Olympics (delayed until July 2021 by the pandemic) in Tokyo, Japan, winning a silver medal. After returning from Tokyo, he put up a 1.57 ERA in 5 starts for the AAA Durham Bulls, showing he was ready to take on The Show. He made his debut on September 20th as the starting pitcher against the Toronto Blue Jays. He gave up just 2 hits in 5 innings, and although both of these were solo homers, to end up a 6-4 winner.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Adam Berry: "Rays' No. 1 prospect Baz set to debut Monday: 22-year-old RHP posted 1.76 in 10 games in first taste of Triple-A this season", mlb.com, September 18, 2021. [1]
  • Adam Berry: "'Dream come true': Baz electric in debut: Top prospect maintains composure over five strong IP, picks up first MLB win", mlb.com, September 21, 2021. [2]
  • Stephen J. Nesbitt: "Pirates sign first-round draft pick Shane Baz", The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 17, 2017. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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