Baz has been among the best starting pitchers in baseball early on
Shane Baz only has three starts this year but he emerged as an early season candidate for the American League Cy Young award.
The 25-year old former top prospect has been fantastic for the Rays this season and was no exception on Monday as he dominated the Boston Red Sox during the series opener. He was provided with plenty of run support, but didn’t need much as he allowed one run on two hits while he didn’t walk anyone and racked up 11 strikeouts over six innings of work.
Overall this season, Baz has a 2-0 record over three starts, compiling a 1.42 ERA | 2.17 FIP with a 38.0 K% & 5.6 BB% over 19 innings pitched.
Entering play on Thursday, here is where Baz ranks among qualifying American League pitchers:
- ERA: 4th
- FIP: 3rd
- Sierra: 2nd
- K%: 2nd
- K-BB%: 2nd
DRAYSBAY PLAYER OF THE SERIES
- 1st: Kameron Misner
- 2nd: Jake Mangum
- 3rd: Brandon Lowe
- 4th: Jose Caballero
- 5th: Joe Boyle
- 6th: Shane Baz
Baz is finally healthy after enduring a multitude of injuries over the past several years. Originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round of the 2017 draft. The Rays acquired him a year later in the Chris Archer trade. Eventually, Baz developed into one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball and made his big league debut in 2021. Unfortunately, Baz underwent elbow surgery early in 2022 and then Tommy John surgery later that year. He finally returned in 2024, but not before an oblique issue delayed his return even further. It seems now that Baz has finally put his injury woes behind him and is realizing his promise that prospect pundits predicted.
The Rays will begin their next series, a four-game set, against the New York Yankees on Thursday.
Who do you think will be our next Player of the Series?