SNELL
Blake

• 1. Professional career
• 1.1. Draft and minor leagues

Blake Ashton Snell is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres.

The Rays selected Snell in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut with the Rays in 2016. He won the Cy Young Award in the American League (AL) in 2018, when he was an All-Star and led the league in both wins and earned run average (ERA). The Rays traded Snell to the Padres before the 2021 season and he won his second Cy Young Award in 2023.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Snell in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Rays and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Rays, where he was 1–2 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 games (eight starts). He spent 2012 with the Princeton Rays, pitching to a 5–1 record and a 2.09 ERA in 11 starts, and 2013 with the Bowling Green Hot Rods where he compiled a 4–9 record and a 4.27 ERA in 23 starts.

Snell started 2014 with Bowling Green and was promoted to the Charlotte Stone Crabs in May. On August 2, he pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Daytona Cubs. It was the first no-hitter in Stone Crabs history. In 24 total games started between the two clubs, he was 8–8 with a 3.19 ERA. After the season, he was named the Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Snell started 2015 with the Stone Crabs and was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits after allowing no runs in 21 innings to start the season. He was later promoted to the Durham Bulls. In 25 games (23 starts) between the three clubs, he was 15–4 with a 1.41 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Snell began the 2016 season with Durham.

• Tampa Bay Rays (2016–2020)
• San Diego Padres (2021–2023)