Shane Baz

Shane Austin Baz

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.
High School Concordia Lutheran High School (Texas)
Debut September 20, 2021

Born June 17, 1999 in Houston, TX USA

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.

He pitched for the Rays until the end of the 2025 season, although he missed all of 2023 with an injury. In 2022, he was limited to 10 starts between AAA and the majors, going 1-2, 5.00 in 6 starts for Tampa Bay. After coming back from the injury, he was 3-3, 4.12 in 10 starts for Durham, and 4-3, 3.06 in 14 starts for Tampa. He allowed just 57 hits in 79 1/3 innings at the major league level, while striking out 69. As a result, 2025 was his first full season in the majors, as he made 31 starts and finished at 10-12, 4.87. He was second on the Rays in both wins and innings (166 1/3), trailing just Ryan Pepiot in both categories, and led the team in strikeouts with 176. At 26, he finally provided his team with what had been expected since he had been drafted eight years earlier. However, it was his final year in Tampa as on December 19th, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. While it may have been strange to see the Rays trade him as he had just reached his potential, but the justification was the huge return that they obtained, which included four prospects (Caden Bodine, Slater de Brun, Michael Forret and Austin Overn) and the 33rd overall pick in the 2026 amateur draft.

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Shane Baz

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