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Kirby Snead
Snead with the Lansing Lugnuts in 2016
Seattle Mariners
Pitcher
Born: (1994-10-07) October 7, 1994 (age 29)
Alachua, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 28, 2021, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record2–4
Earned run average5.20
Strikeouts51
Teams

William Kirby Snead (born October 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics.

Amateur career

Snead attended Santa Fe High School in his hometown of Alachua, Florida. [1] Undrafted out of high school, he then attended the University of Florida, and played three seasons for the Florida Gators. In his freshman season, Snead appeared in 32 games and pitched to a 3–0 win–loss record, 2.40 earned run average (ERA), and 22 strikeouts in 4113 innings. [2] As a sophomore, Snead went 1–0 in 28 games played, and posted a 3.15 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 3413 innings pitched. [2] In his final season with the Gators, Snead made a NCAA-leading 41 relief appearances, and in 3523 innings went 3–1 with a 2.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts. [2]

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Minor leagues

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Snead in the tenth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. [1] He received a $125,000 signing bonus and was assigned to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays. [3] After a single appearance for Dunedin he was assigned to the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, where he finished the 2016 season. In 14 total relief appearances, Snead went 0–1 with a 3.62 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 2713 innings. [1] He began the 2017 season with Lansing, and was promoted to Dunedin in mid-June. Snead ended 2017 with a 7–2 record, 1.79 ERA, and 56 strikeouts in 42 appearances, and did not yield a home run. [1] In 2018, Snead played with Dunedin and the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, pitching 51 total innings and posting a 4–5 record, 3.88 ERA, and 51 strikeouts. [1]

Snead continued to progress through the minor league ranks in 2019, appearing for New Hampshire briefly to begin the season before being promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He went 7–2 with a 3.45 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 6223 innings between the two teams. [1] The 2020 minor league season was cancelled due the COVID-19 pandemic, and Snead did not play professional baseball at any level that year. [4] He began the 2021 minor league season with the Bisons, and had posted a 2.01 ERA through 3113 innings before being called-up. [5] [1]

Major leagues

Snead made his Major League debut on July 28, 2021, against the Boston Red Sox retiring the only two hitters he faced. He finished the season with a 2.35 ERA and 7 strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

Oakland Athletics

On March 16, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Snead, Gunnar Hoglund, Kevin Smith, and Zach Logue to the Oakland Athletics for Matt Chapman. [6] On October 5, Snead recorded his first career save after tossing 1+13 scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels. [7] Snead made 46 appearances for Oakland in 2022, recording a 1-1 record and 5.84 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched.

On March 26, 2023, Snead was placed on the 60-day injured list with a strained throwing shoulder that caused him to miss a month of spring training. [8] He was activated from the injured list on June 30. [9] In 15 games for the Athletics, Snead registered a 4.63 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 11+23 innings of work. On October 27, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Las Vegas Aviators. Snead elected free agency following the season on November 6. [10]

Seattle Mariners

On January 9, 2024, Snead signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. [11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Kirby Snead Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Kirby Snead Florida Gators Profile". floridagators.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "2016 Draft: Signing and Bonus Tracker". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  4. ^ West, Jenna (June 30, 2020). "Minor League Baseball's 2020 Season Canceled". si.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Adams, Steve (July 26, 2021). "Blue Jays Select Kirby Snead, Designate Jacob Barnes". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Matheson, Keegan (March 16, 2022). "Blue Jays, A's agree to Chapman trade". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Athletics' Kirby Snead: First career save". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "Athletics' Kirby Snead: Lands on 60-day IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  9. ^ "Athletics' Kirby Snead: Activated from 60-day IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  11. ^ "Mariners Agree To Minor League Deals With Kirby Snead, Jhonathan Diaz". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.

External links