Pitcher Blake Ashton Snell was born on December 4, 1992, and is currently a free agent. He was a player with the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Snell was chosen by the Rays in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft, and he joined the Rays in 2016 for his Major League debut. In 2018, while he was an All-Star and led the American League (AL) in wins and earned run average (ERA), he won the Cy Young Award in the AL. Before the 2021 season, the Rays traded Snell to the Padres, and in 2023, he was awarded his second Cy Young Award.
Early years: Snell played baseball for the Shorewood High School baseball team in Shoreline, Washington.[1][2] He worked out at a facility run by his father, a former minor league baseball player, when he was in high school. Snell had a 9–0 win–loss record, a 1.00 earned run average (ERA), and 128 strikeouts in more than 63 innings pitched during his senior year.[3]
Professional career: lower leagues and draft
Snell was chosen by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round of the Major League Baseball 2011 draft.[4] After signing with the Rays, he played for the Gulf Coast Rays in his professional debut, going 1-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 games (eight starts). He pitched to a 5-1 record and a 2.09 ERA in 11 starts with the Princeton Rays in 2012, then a 4-9 record and a 4.27 ERA in 23 games with the Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2013.
Snell joined Bowling Green at the beginning of 2014 and was traded to the Charlotte Stone Crabs in May. Pitching against the Daytona Cubs on August 2, he shortened a no-hitter due to rain.[5][6] In Stone Crabs history, it was the first no-hitter. He was 8–8 with a 3.19 ERA in 24 games started between the two clubs. He received the Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year award following the season.[7][8] After allowing no runs in 21 innings to begin the 2015 season, Snell was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits from the Stone Crabs.
season.[9] Later on, he was elevated to the Durham Bulls. Between the three clubs, he went 15–4 with a 1.41 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 25 games (23 starts).[10] Following the season, the Rays promoted him to their 40-man roster.[11] Snell signed with Durham for the 2016 campaign.
