Curtis Shaw

Malcolm Curtis Shaw

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• School University of Kansas
• High School Bartlesville High School
• Born August 16, 1969 in Charlotte, NC USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Curtis Shaw played in the minor leagues from 1990 to 1998. He spent part or all of four seasons at Triple-A and was twice named a Baseball America top-100 prospect, but he never ascended to the major leagues. Averaging 5.8 walks per nine innings, he was hampered with control issues throughout his career.

He was originally taken by the Oakland Athletics in the 2nd round of the 1990 amateur draft, one pick after pitcher Frankie Rodriguez and a few ahead of future All-Star reliever Bob Wickman.

In his first campaign, he went 4-6 with a 3.53 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings for the Southern Oregon A's and in 1991, he went 7-5 with a 2.60 ERA in 20 starts for the Madison Muskies. Going into 1992, Baseball America ranked him the #10 prospect in the A's chain, after outfielder Scott Lydy. That year, he went 13-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 27 starts for the Modesto A's, leading the California League in strikeouts (154), finishing second in walks allowed (98, behind Bryce Florie's 114) and tying Mike Hampton, Doug Johns and Shawn Purdy for second in wins (behind Brian Hancock's 14). In 1993, Baseball America ranked him the #3 prospect in the A's chain (between infielder Brent Gates and Lydy) and the #76 prospect overall, between pitchers Jose Pett and Mark Thompson. He slipped to 6-16 with a 4.93 ERA for the Huntsville Stars in 1993 and never again pitched to the level of his first three seasons. He led the Southern League in losses and walks allowed (89), while tying Mike Ferry, Chris Hook and Tanyon Sturtze for the lead in starts (28).

Despite his rough '93, Baseball America still ranked him the A's #2 prospect going into 1994 (between pitcher Steve Karsay and infielder Miguel Jimenez) and the #98 prospect overall, between outfielder Jose Herrera and pitcher Paul Spoljaric. He reached Triple-A for the first time that year, going 2-6 with a 6.91 ERA in 32 games (8 starts) for the Tacoma Tigers; he was 4-7, 6.10 in 39 games (15 starts) on the year as a whole. In 1995, he led the Pacific Coast League in walks allowed with 88. He remained in the Athletics system through 1996, going 10-5 that year, before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates system in 1997. He remained in the Pirates chain through 1998 to finish up his career.

Overall, Shaw went 52-53 with a 4.19 ERA in 266 games (116 starts). In 916 1/3 innings, he allowed 836 hits and 587 walks (1.553 WHIP), while striking out 745 batters. At Triple-A, he went 8-14 with a 5.79 ERA in 96 games (12 starts).