Shane Baz
Shane Austin Baz is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.Career
Baz attended Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas. As a junior, he had a 1.06 earned run average with 46 strikeouts over 23 innings. Baz was a member of the United States national team in 2016.
Baz committed to Texas Christian University to play college baseball. Considered one of the top prospects for the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him with the 12th overall pick. He officially signed with the Pirates a few days after the draft. He spent 2017 with the GCL Pirates, posting an 0–3 record with a 3.80 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched. MLB.com ranked Baz as Pittsburgh's third best prospect going into the 2018 season. He pitched for the Bristol Pirates of the Rookie-level Appalachian League.
On August 14, Baz was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays as a player to be named later from an earlier trade in which the Pirates also sent Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to the Rays for Chris Archer. The Rays assigned him to the Princeton Rays of the Appalachian League. Over 12 starts between Bristol and Princeton, Baz went 4-5 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Baz began the 2019 season in extended spring training before reporting to the Bowling Green Hot Rods in early May. Over 17 starts with Bowling Green, Baz went 3-2 with a 2.99 ERA, striking out 87 batters over innings. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Salt River Rafters following the season.
