Down on the Farm with Shane Baz
I was able to meet up and interview Shane Baz, drafted in the 1st Round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017, but traded to the Rays last year as part of the deal that sent Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow from Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay for Chris Archer. Baz is considered to be one of the Tampa Bay Rays top prospects, and is a Top 100 prospect according to both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. He’s currently playing late season ball in the renowned Arizona Fall League (AFL).
Baz is your classic power pitcher, with a plus fastball that sat 93-97 and topped out at 98 a few times when I watched him pitch. He also throws a nice mid-80’s slider that shows the makings of a plus pitch. His biggest challenge will be improving his control; throwing strikes consistently. Lowering the walks will comliment a high K-rate, as Baz is currently averaging better than a strikeout per inning, and hitters are only hitting .216 against him through 64.2 innings pitched.
James Weisser: Who was your favorite player to watch growing up?
Shane Baz: Growing up I was a big Yankees fan. I also liked Houston, I was a big Craig Biggio fan and I liked Jeff Bagwell, but I like Derek Jeter the most.
JW: Who do you try to model your game after?
SB: If there’s a pitcher that I try and take stuff from it’s probably Jacob deGrom, power fastball, really hard slider with a changeup that he mixes in and he tries to work off those three pitches. That’s who I probably try and look up to the most.
JW: What’s your favorite thing about the game of baseball?
SB: I like the competitive edge of it, being one on one but in a team setting so I like the camaraderie and everything. I like just facing a hitter one on one and trying to get them out.
JW: What got you interested in baseball?
SB: I think ever since I was young I wanted to play tee ball so I just always loved playing and being a baseball player.
JW: What’s one of the ways that your using baseball to help others?
SB: I think through social media. I just try to make people smile, and be encouraging to others, especially kids if their playing baseball, I might say good swing or throwing cheddar and just try to provide positive reinforcement. I try to do that with my teammates as well, just be positive and encouraging, I try to keep everybody involved and make sure nobody feels like their being singled out.
JW: What’s your favorite movie?
SB: I’d probably say the movie Blow, Johnny Depp is in it, and it’s one of my favorites. I like action/crime movies like Goodfellas and The Godfather and movies like that.
JW: What’s your favorite food?
SB: I’d probably have to go with a good cheese steak, like a good philly cheese steak. It’s hard to find a good one though.
JW: What’s your favorite kind of music?
SB: I like classic rock, I like Lynyrd Skynyrd. My mom’s a musician so I was raised on like 70’s and 80’s rock but I’m a big fan of classic rock. If I had to choose a favorite band I would probably say either Red Hot Chili Peppers or Lynyrd Skynyrd. I also like Led Zeppelin alot.
JW: What’s some of your interests outside of baseball?
SB: I think I would want to do something with music. I play guitar, do a little bit of vocals, and my mom is a musician so I think I would do something in music. It’s a big passion for me.
JW: If you could have any super power or be any superhero who or what would it be?
SB: I would have to be able to fly, that’s just the best one, you could go anywhere, anytime, miss traffic, especially in downtown Houston. Gotta be able to miss traffic so definitely would want to be able to fly.
JW: What’s a hidden talent or something people might not know about you?
SB: I’m really good at ping pong, but honestly it’s probably how good I am at guitar and my musical side.
