Blake Ashton Snell...engaged to Haeley with son Kaedyn, born in 2024...father Dave pitched in the minors with KC and SEA from 1983-88...has a 12U travel baseball team in Seattle called Zilla National...drafted by Tampa Bay in the first round (52nd overall) of the 2011 draft out of Shorewood High School in Shoreline, Wash.
2024
Signed with San Francisco as a free agent on March 19...went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA (36 ER/104.0 IP) in 20 starts while holding batters to a .174 average in his only season with SF...Pitched his first no-hitter on Aug. 2 at CIN, giving up only three walks and striking out 11...named National League Player of the Week for the first time following the performance...Became just the fifth reigning Cy Young Award winner to throw a no-hitter, joining Jake Arrieta (2015, Chicago Cubs), Clayton Kershaw (2013, Los Angeles Dodgers), Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (1970, St. Louis Cardinals) and Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax (1963, Los Angeles Dodgers)...After the All-Star break, went 5-0 in 12 starts with a 1.45 ERA (11 ER/68.1 IP) with 103 strikeouts against 27 walks...Spent time on the injured list twice this season, suffering a left adductor strain April 24-May 22 and left groin strain June 3-July 9...in five combined rehab outings went 1-0 with a 2.41 ERA (5 ER/18.2 IP) and a 0.70 WHIP while holding batters to a .115 average.
2023
Wrapped up his eighth Major League season and third with the Padres, going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA over 32 starts, earning his second career Cy Young Award (first in the NL)...Snell, who previously won the award in the American League with Tampa Bay in 2018, joined Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Max Scherzer, Gaylord Perry and Roy Halladay as the only players in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues...Led the Majors in ERA for the first time in his career… also led all MLB pitchers in opposing average (.181), opponent slugging percentage (.286), opponent OPS (.579), hits allowed per 9.0 innings (5.75) and percentage of pitches put in play (12.8%)...Snell’s 234 strikeouts were tied for third-most in the Majors behind ATL’s Spencer Strider (281) and TOR’s Kevin Gausman (237)...Became the first pitcher since ERA was established in both leagues in 1913 to finish as baseball’s walks and ERA leader...Named The Sporting News 2023 National League Starter of the Year...Posted career-bests in starts, strikeouts and opponents slugging percentage and came just two outs shy of matching a career-high in innings pitched (180.0)...Sported the best bWAR among pitchers (6.0) in the NL and fifth-highest WAR in the NL overall...The southpaw received NL Pitcher of the Month honors in both June (3-1, 0.87 ERA) and September (3-0, 0.58 ERA).
2022
Made 24 starts in 2022, tied with 2017 for the third-most in his career...he posted the second-highest SO/9 IP ratio of his career (12.02), his 2nd-lowest HR/9 IP ratio (0.77), his second-lowest H/9 IP ratio (7.24) and his second-highest first pitch strike percentage (64.6%)....His eight winning decisions were the second-most of his career, trailing only his 21 from his 2018 Cy Young season…his 10 losing decisions where also a career high, ahead of the 8 from his rookie 2016 season and in 2019 with Tampa Bay....In his 10 first half starts, he went 1-5 with a 5.22 ERA and .705 opponent OPS...in his 14 second half starts, he went 7-5 with a 2.19 ERA and .585 opponent OPS....Finished the season with a 3.38 ERA, it's lowest mark at any point in 2022....He was slated to start SD's 4th game of the season on April 10 @ ARI, but was scratched minutes before first pitch with a left adductor strain...placed on the 10-day IL on April 14, his only IL stint of the campaign…made 3 rehab starts before being reinstated and making his season debut on May 18 @ PHI....Snell started the season with the Padres losing each of his first eight starts from May 18-July 1, going 0-5 with a 5.13 ERA (23 ER, 40.1 IP) with just seven total runs of support....Earned his first winning decision in his 9th start of the season on July 8 vs. SF, the night the Padres debuted their City Connect uniforms, behind 6.0 innings of one-run, three-hit ball in SD's 6-3 victory....Posted double digit strikeouts in back-to-back games on July 1 @ LAD and July 8 vs. SF for the fifth time in his career...he's struck out 10+ in consecutive games a total of 4 times in his career...punched out 10+ in a career-high three straight last season (Aug. 25-Sept. 7)....Overall in ’22, he posted five double-digit strikeout games (July 1 @ LAD, July 8 vs. SF, Aug. 14 @ WSH, Sept. 5 vs. ARI and Sept 21 vs. STL)...since 2018, Snell has the 3rd-most double-digit strikeout games (23) among all ML left-handers, trailing only Robbie Ray (26) and Chris Sale (25)....In his final start of the 1st half on Thurs., July 14 @ COL, his 3.2 IP tied his second-shortest outing of the campaign (also: season debut, May 18 @ PHI)...his six walks were also a season high, trailing only his 7 on June 19, 2018 @ HOU while with TB...it's one of 18 six-walk outings in MLB this season, trailing only Dylan Cease's seven walks on June 4 @ TB....Among all qualifying pitchers in the second half, he ranked 2nd in SO/9 IP (12.12), behind only SF's Carlos Rodon (13.1)...he ranked third in total strikeouts (105), behind only NYY's Gerrit Cole (110) and MIL's Brandon Woodruff (106), and three ahead of NYM's Jacob deGrom (102)...ranked 5th in ERA (2.19 ERA), behind only LAD's Julio Urias (1.26), ARI's Zac Gallen (1.62), STL's Jose Quintana (1.67) and LAA's Shohei Ohtani (1.73)....Earned the winning decision in 3 straight starts from July 23-Aug. 3 to begin the second half, his 5th career winning streak of 3 in a row-or-longer...the other 4 streaks came during his 2018 Cy Young campaign with TB, highlighted by earning the win in nine straight games from Aug 10-Sept 23....He has 8 career starts in which he's allowed 1 or 0 runs with 0 walks and 9+ punchouts in at least 6.0 innings of work, with two of those outings coming this season (Aug. 3 vs. COL and Aug. 14 @ WSH)....After allowing just 4 home runs in his 14 starts from May 31-Aug. 19, Snell allowed a career-high-tying 3 HR for the third time in his career on Aug 24 vs. CLE, and for the first time since March 28, 2019 vs. HOU while with TB...his 0.48 HR/9 IP ratio from May 31-Aug 19 was tied for the 5th-lowest in the Majors among all qualifying starting pitchers...and his current 0.77 HR/9 IP ratio on the season was below his career average 0.96 HR/9 IP....Faced off against the Giants for the 3rd time in ’22 on Aug 30 at SF, and posted his 18th career start of 6.0+ shutout innings and his 3rd of the campaign (also: Aug 14 @ WSH and Sept 21 vs. STL)...he was one of 16 hurlers to make at least 3 starts vs. the Giants this season, and his 1.02 ERA ranked 3rd, behind only MIL's Corbin Burnes (0.82) and LAD’s Julio Urias (0.90)....He posted a career-high 20.0 consecutive scoreless innings across parts of his final 4 starts from Sept. 16-October 2...it was the longest scoreless-inning streak by an SD hurler in '22, and the Padres were the only team in the Majors this season with four different starters to have a 15.0+ scoreless IP streak -- Yu Darvish (16.0), Joe Musgrove (16.0) and MacKenzie Gore (16.0)...the last time the Padres had multiple SP with 15.0 scoreless inning streaks in the same season was in 2010, when Jon Garland, Mat Latos and Wade LeBlanc combined for six such streaks....Tossed season highs in IP in back-to-back starts on Sept 16 at ARI and Sept. 21 vs. STL...in the Sept. 16 start at Chase Field, his 95 pitches thrown where his fewest to ever get through 7.0 innings...he received 11 runs of support in SD's 12-3 victory, the second-most an SD hurler has received this season (behind only Sean Manaea's 13 on June 8 @ NYM)...and he was the only SD hurler to receive double digit runs of support in multiple outings in '22 (10 on July 29 vs. MIN)....Including his 3.0 scoreless innings from his Sept .16 start in the fourth-seventh innings, he contributed 11.0 scoreless innings to the Friars' 31.2 consecutive scoreless innings from Sept 16-22...it was the longest scoreless streak by a starting staff in the Majors in '22, and it was 1.2 IP shy of the club record (33.1 IP from July 28-Aug. 1, 1984)....The Padres allowed just 1 run in 4 games from Sept 17-21, the 1st club to allow no more than one run over a four-game span while striking out 40+ batters in MLB history....In his Sept. 21 start vs. STL at Petco Park, he punched out a career-high-tying 13 Cardinals for the 4th time behind the second-most pitches in his career (117) in SD's 1-0 victory...it was his ninth career outing of 7.0 shutout innings while allowing two hits-or-fewer....Faced LAD for the third and final time in the regular season on Sept. 27, tossing 5.0 shutout innings of one-hit ball…among all active ML pitchers at the end of the 2022 season who have made at least 12 career starts vs. the Dodgers (regular + Postseason), his 2.45 ERA and .187 opponent AVG both ranked 1st....He's the only hurler to have ever made at least 5 career starts vs. ARI and have a sub-1.00 ERA (0.84), and his .142 opponents' AVG across his 7 career starts vs. ARI also ranked first all-time...his 0.84 ERA vs. ARI at the end of the ’22 season ranked 1st all-time ahead of Johan Santana (1.25), Julio Urias (1.38) and Jacob deGrom (1.40)....From 2016-21, he posted an 8-0 record with a 2.22 ERA and .176 AVG in his 20 starts vs. the NL West…all 4 of Snell's career losing decisions vs. NL West opponents came in ‘22 (June 19 @ COL, Aug. 8 vs. SF, Sept. 5 vs. ARI and Sept 10 vs. LAD)...vs. the division in ’22, he went 4-4 with a 3.05 ERA and .217 opp. AVG....Snell contributed 11 quality outings to the Padres' NL-leading 84 quality starts, 10 behind HOU's 94 for most in the Majors...it was 9 more quality outings than the next-closest NL team (PHI's 75)....Snell faced just 97 lefties compared to 438 righties...10 of his 11 HR allowed and 40 of his 46 extra-base hits allowed came vs. RHH...but Snell limited righties to a .213 AVG while lefties hit .233. ...Snell posted exactly a 1.88 ERA (5 ER, 24.0 IP) in both the first, seond innings and third innings, followed by a 6.35 ERA (16 ER, 22.2 IP) in the fourth and a 6.27 ERA in the fifth (13 ER, 18.2 IP)...he worked into the 6th in 14 starts (2.84 ERA) and through the 7th twice (scoreless)....30 of his 60 runs of support came in 3 outings (July 29 vs. MIN, Aug. 3 vs. COL and Sept. 16 @ ARI...he's received 1 run-or-fewer in 13 of his 24 starts, including six outings with 0 runs of support....The first time thru the lineup, opponents hit .165 with a .484 OPS, the second time thru - .228 with a .716 OPS, and the 3rd time thru - .301 with a .784 OPS....Per Statcast, Snell relied on four pitches: 4-Seam Fastball (55.5%), Slider (24.3%), Curveball (15.1%) and Changeup (5%)...His 32.8 whiff% ranked in the 90th percentile while the 2,434 rpm spin rate on his 4-seamer ranked in the 91st percentile...his 32.0 K% ranked in the 92nd percentile....His 9.5 BB% ranked in the 27th percentile...he posted a 5.58 BB/9 IP ratio in his first 10 half starts, and a 2.31 BB/9 IP ratio across his 14 2nd-half starts.
POSTSEASON: Made his NL debut in the Postseason after reaching the NLDS with TB in ’19 and the World Series in ’20, going 2-0 with a 4.61 ERA (7 ER, 13.2 IP), .264 opp. AVG and 1.68 WHIP....Started Game 2 of the Wild Card Series at NYM on Oct 8 vs. NYM and did not factor into SD's 7-3 defeat...his 3.1 IP tied for the shortest outing of his Postseason career (also: his Postseason debut on Oct. 5, 2019 @ HOU)…he walked a Postseason career-high six, allowing two runs on four hits....Earned the win and gave SD the 2-1 series advantage in Game 3 of the NLDS vs. LAD on Oct. 14 at Petco Park, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts across 5.1 IP in SD's 2-1 victory....Started Game 2 of the NLCS vs. PHI on Oct. 19 at Petco Park and earned the win in SD’s 8-5 victory, tossing 5.0 innings of four-run ball on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
2021
His seven wins, 170 strikeouts and 27 starts were the 2ndhighest totals he’s accrued in a single season behind only his 2018 Cy Young campaign for TB…the 27 starts, 128.2 IP and 170 strikeouts all ranked 3rd on SD’s staff while his seven wins were T-3rd-most...His .158 opponents’ AVG at Petco Park tied with MIL’s Freddy Peralta for the lowest clip at home in the majors (min. 12 starts) while his 2.50 home ERA ranked 8th in the NL and 10th in the majors...His 6.12 ERA on the road was 2nd-highest in the majors (min. 15 starts) while his .272 opp. AVG was 6th-highest in the NL and 11th-highest in MLB...Allowed two earned runs-or-fewer in seven of his first nine starts from April 2-May 18 (3.79 ERA) but factored into just one contest, a winning decision on May 1 vs. SF...Allowed a career-high-tying seven earned runs three times (May 30 @ HOU, June 16 @ COL and July 28 vs. OAK)...Was the only NL pitcher and 1 of 2 pitchers in the majors (also: CWS Carlos Rodon) with three outings of 7.0+ IP with one hit-or-fewer in ’21 (June 4 vs. NYM, Aug. 31 @ ARI and Sept. 7 vs. LAA)...Finished the first half with 9.0-combined scoreless IP across his final two outings (June 22 vs. LAD and July 4 @ PHI)...His five starts vs. LAD were the most he made against any team in ’21…he went 1-0 with a 1.90 ERA (5 ER, 23.2 IP), 0.97 WHIP and .188 opp. AVG...15 of his 27 starts came vs. the NL West, going 4-0 with a 2.87 ERA (24 ER, 75.1 IP), .197 opp. AVG and 1.19 WHIP...Since 1969, among all ML pitchers who have made at least 20 starts vs. the NL West, Snell’s 2.22 ERA vs. the division ranks T-4th with Oil Can Boyd, trailing only Jacob deGrom (1.85), Johan Santana (1.93) and Roger Clemens (2.20)…his .176 opp. AVG vs. the division ranks T-1st with deGrom…he is 8-0 vs. the NL West all-time, the only hurler with a 1.000 winning %, ahead of Walker Buehler’s .885 % (23-3)...In the 2nd half, allowed two earned runs-or-fewer in eight of his 11 starts, going 4-3 with a .180 opp. AVG and 1.05 WHIP...Earned the winning decision in consecutive starts just once in ‘21 (Aug. 3 @ OAK and Aug. 8 vs. ARI)...Struck out a career-high-tying 13 batters on Aug. 8 vs. ARI, allowing just two hits and no runs in SD’s 2-0 victory...On Aug. 25 vs. LAD, tossed career highs in IP (7.2) and total pitches (122), allowing just one run (Will Smith solo HR in the 8th) in SD’s eventual 5-3 defeat in 16 innings...In his next start on Aug. 31 @ ARI, was hitless and a struck out 10 across 7.0 IP in SD’s 3-0 victory...including Joe Musgrove's no-hitter on April 9 @ TEX, the only other hitless start across at least 7.0 IP in franchise history was Clay Kirby's 8.0-hitless innings on July 21, 1970 vs. NYM...Took a perfect game into the 7th inning on Sept. 7 vs. LAA before walking two batters and allowing a two-out, two-run single to Jo Adell on his 96th pitch...he struck out 11, marking the first time in his career he's posted 3 consecutive double-digit strikeout performances...Snell's 13.0 consecutive hitless innings from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7 set a franchise record for any pitcher (starter or reliever), passing Bill Laxton's 12.1 consecutive hitless frames in July-August 1974...the previous longest streak by a SD starter was 11.0 IP, done 3x (Steve Arlin in July 1972, Bruce Hurst in April 1989 and Chris Young in Sept. 2006)...The 42 consecutive batters retired over a span of 46 plate appearances was the 2nd-longest streak in the majors in ’21, behind only Carlos Rodon (50 from April 5-20)...He eclipsed the 100-pitch plateau in six of his final eight outings from Aug. 3-Sept. 12, tossing 92 on Aug. 20 vs. PHI and 11 on Sept. 12 @ LAD…left his Sept. 12 start @ LAD after just 0.2 IP due to a left adductor strain, finishing the season on the 10-day IL, one of his three stints on the 10-day IL in ’21...On the season, he received two runs of support-or-fewer in 17 of 27 starts, including one-or-fewer in 13 and no runs eight times… his 3.64 run support average was 3rd-lowest among all NL pitchers (min. 120.0 IP) and 10th-lowest among all ML hurlers...LHH had just seven XBH against him and hit .144 (16-111), T-6thlowest clip in the majors (min. 120 batters faced)…RHH had 36 XBH against him and hit .235 (85-361)...Relied on four pitches: 4-Seam (52%), Slider (24%), Curveball (13%) and Change (10%)…opponents hit .153 vs. his slider, .200 vs. his curve, .213 vs. the slider and .429 vs. changeup.
2020
Yielded three runs-or-fewer in 10 of 11 starts and two runs-or-fewer in seven of 11...Averaged just over 4.1 IP per start, using his first 3 starts as a continuation of the summer camp build up…went 2 IP, 3 IP and 3 IP in his first three starts, then recorded between 15- 17 outs in each of his final 8 starts (from Aug 12–Sep 22)...Only faced 23 batters the third time through the lineup…went fewer than 6.0 IP in 14 consecutive starts beginning on Sep 17, 2019 at LAD, when he returned from arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow…was one of 6 pitchers in the majors to make at least 10 starts and go fewer than 6.0 IP in all of them...His 11.34 SO/9 IP ratio ranked 5th in the AL (min. 50.0 IP)… he struck out 31.0% of batters faced, the best mark among left-handed pitchers in the majors…wallked 8.9% of hitters, the lowest rate of his career. ..Allowed 10 HR for a 1.80 HR/9 IP ratio, the 5th-highest in the AL (min. 50.0 IP), after yielding 14 HR in 107.0 IP in 2019…29.4 pct. of his fly balls were homers, the highest rate in the majors…allowed multiple homers in four of his 11 starts…yielded 3 HR against lefties, compared to 5 total HR vs. LHB from 2016-19...50.8 pct. of his balls in play were grounders, which would have ranked 5th in the AL if he qualified…increased his ground ball rate from 38.6 pct. in 2019 and 42.5 pct. from 2016-19...His avg. fastball velocity, according to FanGraphs, was 95.1 mph, 6th in the AL (min. 50 IP)...Held opponents to a .132 AVG (5-for-38) in at-bats ending with his curveball, 5th in the AL (min. 25 AB), according to StatCast…61.8 pct. (34 of 55) of swings against his curveball were misses, the best rate of his career on any pitch. ..Opponents hit .033 (1-for-30) with 17 SO in at-bats ending with his slider…his combined .088 opp avg. (6-for-68) in at-bats ending with breaking balls was 3rd in the majors (min. 50 AB)...His first three interleague innings were scoreless, extending his scoreless streak to 35.2 IP… this was the longest in interleague history, passing TOR/MIA Henderson Alvarez III (31.0 IP) in 2012-14…the streak was snapped on a solo homer by MIA Corey Dickerson, his first interleague run allowed since a Ronald Acuña Jr. homer on May 8, 2018 vs. ATL...Made his 4th consecutive Opening Day roster, all as part of the starting rotation...POSTSEASON: Went 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA (10 ER, 29.2 IP) in 6 postseason starts, limiting the oppoosition to a .194 AVG and allowing 2 earned runs-or-fewer in 5 of his 6 outings...allowed just 1 hit across 5.2-scoreless IP in TB's 3-1 Wild Card victory vs. TB...while facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, he became the 3rd LHP to record 9-or-more strikeouts twice in a single Fall Classic, joining Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers (3x in '65) and Hal Newhouser of the Detroit Tigers (2x in '45).
2019
In the season following his AL Cy Young Award, was limited to 23 starts due to two stints on the injured list…missed a start while on the 10-day IL from April 14-24 (fractured right fourth toe), and nearly two months toward the end of the season…underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow on July 29, performed by Dr. Koco Eaton in St. Petersburg...Reinstated from his second injury on Sep 17 and made 3 starts spanning 6 IP after his return, yielding 3 runs and recording 11 SO…made two rehab starts for Triple-A Durham in the International League postseason...Min. 100 IP, his 12.36 SO/9 IP ratio ranked 4th in the majors and 3rd in the AL…threw first-pitch strikes to 67.8 pct. of batters faced, 4th in the AL, compared to 57.1 pct. in 2018…17.7 pct. of his pitches were swings-and-misses, highest mark in the majors, ahead of HOU Gerrit Cole (16.8)...His avg. fastball velocity was 95.6 mph, 2nd in the AL (min. 100 IP) behind HOU Gerrit Cole (97.2), according to FanGraphs...His 3.62 R/9 IP of run support would have been the lowest in the AL if he qualified…the Rays were held scoreless with him in the game in seven of his 23 starts, and they gave him 3 runs (or fewer) of support 17 times...His 8 losses tied for the team lead while the Rays went 12-11 (.522) in his starts after going 22-9 (.710) in his Cy Young Award-winning season...® In Baseball America's annual Best Tools survey of major league managers, coaches and executives, was ranked as having the AL's 3rd-best curveball behind Charlie Morton and CLE Trevor Bauer...Allowed 6 runs (or more) four times in a span of 11 starts from May 1-June 25, after doing that three times in the first 79 starts of his career...Ended the season on an interleague scoreless streak of 32.2 IP, starting with the 4th inning on May 8, 2018 vs. ATL…made three interleague starts spanning 15 IP and yielded only 3 hits...On March 21, signed a five-year, $50 million contract, the largest in major league history for a pitcher before reaching arbitration…the deal extends through the 2023 season, which would have been his first year of free agency, and could pay him an additional $2 million in incentives...On March 28 vs. HOU, made his first career Opening Day start and suffered his first loss since July 12, 2018 at MIN…it snapped a 9-game winning streak, which tied for the longest in franchise history at the time…yielded a career-high tying 3 HR, matching James Shields in 2010 and Scott Kazmir in 2006 for the most ever allowed by a Rays pitcher on Opening Day...His Opening Day start was opposite HOU Justin Verlander, who finished 2nd to Snell in the 2018 AL Cy Young Award voting and made his 11th Opening Day assignment…it was the fourth time since the Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956 that a reigning winner faced the runner up on Opening Day…two previous instances occurred in 1979, when NYY Ron Guidry faced runner-up MIL-AL Mike Caldwell and SD Gaylord Perry faced runner-up LAD Burt Hooton…the third occurred just hours before, when NYM Jacob deGrom pitched opposite runner-up WAS Max Scherzer at Nationals Park...On April 2 vs. COL, recorded a career-high tying 13 SO in a scoreless start of 7 IP for a 4-0 win...Placed on the 10-day IL (fractured right fourth toe) on April 16, retroactive to April 14, but missed the minimum 10 days…his first 2 starts after being reinstated were both against the Royals, and he suffered the loss in both...On May 6 vs. ARI, retired his first 17 BF, the 4th-longest perfect game bid in club history at the time…the perfect game was broken up on a 6th-inning single by No. 9 hitter Ildemaro Vargas...On June 19 at NYY, yielded 6 runs in 0.1 IP, the shortest start of his career, in a 12-1 loss…was the first time he failed to get out of the 1st inning… was the fifth time in club history a pitcher yielded 6 runs (or more) in a start of 0.1 IP (or fewer), first since Tim Corcoran on Sep 12, 2006 at NYY...Started Game 2 of the ALDS at HOU and took the loss, but his only run allowed in 3.1 IP was a solo homer to Alex Bregman in the 4th inning…pitched in relief in Games 4 and 5...In Game 4 vs. HOU, entered with 1 out in the 9th inning and the potential game-tying run at the plate, and got a Yordan Álvarez swinging strikeout and Yuli Gurriel groundout for the save...Became the second Rays pitcher to record his first career save in the postseason, following David Price in Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS vs. BOS...According to Stats LLC, became the second pitcher to have his first career relief appearance (regular season or postseason) end with a save in the postseason, joining ATL John Smoltz in Game 2 of the 1999 NLCS vs. NYM.
2018
Named the AL Cy Young Award winner by the BBWAA…joined David Price (2012) as the only Rays to win the Cy Young Award…became the youngest pitcher to win a Cy Young Award since LAD Clayton Kershaw (25) in 2013, and the youngest AL pitcher since SEA Félix Hernández (24) in 2010…his 180.2 IP were the fewest ever for a Cy Young Award-winning starting pitcher over a full season...Only two pitchers have won the AL Cy Young and appeared in fewer career games than Snell (74) at the time of their award: BOS Roger Clemens in 1986 and OAK Vida Blue in 1971...Won the 2018 Warren Spahn Award as the majors' top left-handed pitcher, based on wins, ERA and strikeouts…joined David Price (2010) as Rays to earn the honor...Led the AL outright in both wins (21) and ERA (1.89), both club records…the last AL pitcher to match his combination of wins and ERA was NYY Ron Guidry (25, 1.74) in 1978…since the advent of the designated hitter in 1973, he was only the third AL pitcher to record at least 20 wins and a sub-2.00 ERA, along with Guidry and BOS Roger Clemens (21, 1.93) in 1990…his ERA ranked 3rd in the AL in the DH era, behind a pair of unanimous Cy Young winners: Guidry in 1978 and BOS Pedro Martínez (1.74) in 2000...In the live ball era (1920), only three other pitchers age 25 or younger achieved his combination of 21 wins and a 1.89 ERA: NYM Dwight Gooden (24, 1.53) in 1985, OAK Vida Blue (24, 1.82) in 1971 and DET Hal Newhouser (25, 1.81) in 1945...Was the majors' youngest 21-game winner since LAD Clayton Kershaw in 2011 and the AL's youngest since OAK Barry Zito in 2002...Was only the third pitcher since 2003 to record at least 20 wins, after 5 wins (or fewer) the season prior…CIN Johnny Cueto recorded 5 wins in 2013 due to three stints on the disabled list, and 20 wins in 2014 to finish 2nd in the NL Cy Young Award voting…CLE Cliff Lee recorded 5 wins in 2007 and was demoted to the minors that year, and in 2008 won 22 games and the AL Cy Young...Yielded 2 runs or fewer in 27 of 31 starts, most such starts ever by an AL pitcher in the DH era, ahead of NYY Ron Guidry (26) in 1978…allowed 2 runs or fewer in 20 of his last 22 starts… yielded 1 run or fewer in 21 starts, most by an AL non-opener in the DH era ahead of TOR Roger Clemens (20) in 1997…nine of his 31 starts were scoreless...Also ranked among AL leaders in WHIP (0.97, 2nd), SO/9 IP ratio (11.01, 4th) and HR/9 IP ratio (0.80, 3rd)…according to Baseball Reference, led AL pitchers with 7.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR)…according to FanGraphs, averaged 95.8 mph on his fastball, 3rd in the AL, and 15.1 pct. of his total pitches were swings and misses, 2nd in the league...Twelve of his 31 starts came against the five AL postseason teams-the Red Sox (4), Yankees (3), Indians (2), Astros (2) and Athletics (1)…in these 12 starts, he went 9-2 with a 2.00 ERA (72-IP, 16-ER), including 8 starts allowing 1 run or fewer, while all other pitchers compiled a 4.84 ERA vs. these clubs…went 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA (25-IP, 3-ER) in 4 starts against the Red Sox, the majors' top-scoring team...Made 5 starts against a former Cy Young Award winner, and went 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA (30.2-IP, 2-ER) in those games...Enters 2019 having won nine consecutive decisions, tied with Matt Moore (2012-13) for the club record…his last loss was July 12 at MIN, his final start before the All-Star break...Won nine consecutive starts from Aug 10-Sep 23, the only pitcher in the majors to do so in 2018…over that stretch, he went 9-0 with a 1.03 ERA (52.2-IP, 6-ER) and 74 SO…according to Stats LLC, the only other pitchers in major league history to match or exceed those numbers over a 9-start span are MIN Johan Santana in 2004 and STL Bob Gibson in 1968, both unanimous Cy Young Award winners...Went 10-1 at home with a 1.27 ERA-the lowest home ERA by an AL pitcher since CAL Nolan Ryan (1.07) in 1972-before the advent of the DH…didn't allow more than 2 runs at home in 2018, and yielded 1 run or fewer in 12 of 14 starts at home…yielded 1 ER or fewer in 14 consecutive home starts from Sep 12, 2017-Aug 26, 2018, the longest such streak in the majors since 1913- when earned runs were officially kept in both leagues, according to the Elias Sports Bureau...Was named AL Pitcher of the Month for August and September, the youngest pitcher in either league to win back-to-back awards since MIN Johan Santana (July, August, September) in 2004…went 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA (26-IP, 3-ER) in 5 starts in August and 5-0 with a 1.26 ERA (35.2-IP, 5-ER) in 6 starts in September…joined Chris Archer in July 2013, Jeremy Hellickson in May 2011, David Price in September 2010 and Scott Kazmir in May 2008 as Rays pitchers to receive the monthly honor...Only two starters with at least 100 IP in both 2017 and 2018 improved their strikeout rate more than Snell…his strikeout pct. increased from 21.8 in 2017 to 31.6 in 2018, a 9.8 pct. increase, trailing PHI Jerad Eickhoff (+21.8) and HOU Gerrit Cole (+11.4 pct.)…also decreased his walk rate from 10.8 to 9.1 pct...Became the third starting pitcher to win the Don Zimmer Award, given to the club's Most Valuable Player, following James Shields in 2011 and Tanyon Sturtze in 2001...According to Baseball America's Best Tools survey of major league managers, coaches, scouts and executives, his curveball was ranked 3rd in the AL behind CLE Corey Kluber and HOU Charlie Morton...Has only hit one batter in 74 career starts, on June 9 vs. SEA in his 57th start…his 56 starts without a hit batter was the longest streak by any starter to begin his career (with no relief appearances over that stretch) since Baseball Reference data is available (1908)…it was also the longest streak by a Rays starter at any point in franchise history, passing James Shields (38) in 2009-10...Selected as the No. 2 starter on March 15 by Manager Kevin Cash, up from No. 4 in the 2017 season-opening rotation…was placed on the 10-day DL on July 23, retroactive to July 20, with left shoulder fatigue, and reinstated on Aug 4...On April 10 at CWS, recorded his first win of the season, reaching double-digit strikeouts for the second time in his career…became the fifth pitcher in Rays history to yield 1 hit or fewer while recording at least 10 SO, first since Drew Smyly on April 19, 2016 at BOS...On April 16 vs. TEX, his only run allowed in 6.1 IP was a solo homer by Joey Gallo, which snapped a scoreless streak of 26.2 IP at Tropicana Field…ended just shy of the club record held by David Price (29.1, July 14-Sep 20, 2012)…it was the first time in his career he gave up a home run to a left-handed hitter...Faced his childhood idol, Félix Hernández, in consecutive starts from June 3-9, and went 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA (12-IP, 2-R/1-ER)…in the first of these starts, pitched in front of family and friends in his first career start at Safeco Field… grew up watching almost every Mariners game with his father...On June 3 at SEA, struck out his first seven batters faced, tying an AL record…joined CWS Joe Cowley on May 28, 1986 at TEX and CWS Carlos Rodón on Sep 30, 2016 vs. MIN…his seven consecutive strikeouts to start the game fell one shy of tying a modern major league record…he broke the Rays record for consecutive strikeouts to start a game (Scott Kazmir, 5 on Aug 25, 2007 vs. OAK) and tied the Rays record for consecutive strikeouts at any point in a game (also Chris Archer on Sep 11, 2015 vs. BOS and Andy Sonnanstine on June 10, 2007 at FLA)…was the second time in franchise history a Rays pitcher delivered a scoreless start with at least 12 SO and 0 BB and did not record the win, following Chris Archer on May 27, 2015 vs. SEA...On June 19 at HOU, recorded the win despite a career-high 7 BB, the most by a Ray since Jeremy Hellickson (7) on June 8, 2012 at MIA and tied for the most ever by a Rays pitcher in a winning decision (5th time, last Victor Zambrano on April 6, 2004 vs. NYY)…became the first pitcher to record at least 7 BB and 7 IP in a game since ARI Edwin Jackson in his no-hitter at Tropicana Field on June 25, 2010...On June 25 vs. WAS, did not allow a hit until Anthony Rendon's double in the 7th inning… walked his first 2 BF in the 1st inning, but after that retired 18 consecutive batters faced-tied for the 3rd-longest streak of consecutive batters retired in a game in franchise history, behind Matt Garza (22) on July 26, 2010 vs. DET and Chris Archer (19) on July 29, 2015 vs. DET...On Aug 10 at TOR, retired all 15 BF on 47 pitches in his second start after returning from the 10-day DL…it was the fourth time since Baseball Reference data is available (1908) that a starting pitcher was pulled with a perfect game through at least 5 IP…joined LAD Rich Hill on Sep 10, 2016 at MIA (7 IP)-his third start back from the disabled list; DET Daniel Norris on Sep 22, 2015 vs. CWS (5 IP)-his second start back from the disabled list; and HOU Bob Knepper on Oct 5, 1986 vs. ATL (5 IP)-the club's regular season finale and a tuneup start for the postseason...On Sep 12 vs. CLE, did not allow a hit until José Ramírez homered to lead off the 7th inning… matched the longest no-hit bid of his career and became the second Rays pitcher with multiple no-hit bids of 6 IP within the same season, joining Nathan Eovaldi (also in 2018). ® On Sep 18 at TEX, did not allow a run in 5 IP for his club-record-tying 20th win…broke the record in his next start, Sep 23 at TOR-a scoreless start of 6.2 IP...ALL-STAR GAME: Replaced CLE Corey Kluber on the AL All-Star Team roster…was the first selection of his career, and it marked the ninth consecutive season the Rays had a pitcher named an All-Star; only the Yankees (12) have a longer streak in the AL…was the third pitcher used by the AL, and he went 1.2 IP, yielding a homer to Willson Contreras on the first pitch of his outing…struck out Nolan Arenado, Matt Kemp and Bryce Harper.
2017
Made 24 starts over three stints with the Rays, and made 7 starts for Triple-A Durham over a six-week assignment there…began the season as the Rays No. 4 starter, was optioned to Durham on May 14 after 8 starts, recalled June 28, optioned Aug 4 and recalled Aug 8…did not miss a start between his second and third stints, as Alex Cobb was placed on the disabled list with turf toe... Enjoyed a strong finish to the season in his third stint with the Rays…in his final 10 starts after the Aug 8 recall, he went 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA (57-IP, 18-ER) and averaged 16.0 pitches per inning…did not allow an earned run in 4 of those 10 starts, and went at least 6 IP in 7 of them… during that span he ranked 6th in the AL in ERA and 4th with a .197 opp avg. …in his first two stints, he went 0-6 with a 4.98 ERA (72.1-IP, 40-ER) and 18.9 pitches per inning in 14 starts... Compiled both the longest winless streak (15 starts, April 6-Aug 10) and unbeaten streak (10 starts, July 29-Sep 20) by a Rays starter in 2017…the 15-start winless streak was the longest by any pitcher to begin a season since MIL Marco Estrada (15) in 2012, and tied Tanyon Sturtze in 2002 for the longest in club history to begin a season…it extended to 16 starts including his final start of 2016, one shy of the club record held by Jason Hammel in 2006-07... Averaged 2.70 BB/9 IP over his last 13 starts beginning July 24, compared to 5.95 BB/9 IP in 11 starts prior to that... Has never allowed a homer to a left-handed hitter in his career (162 BF), and did not allow an extra-base hit to a lefty over his final 9 starts of 2017 (25 BF)…only two other pitchers in the majors have faced as many lefties over the past two seasons without yielding a home run: SF Ty Blach (215 BF) and COL Carlos Estevez (162)…in 2017, Snell held lefties to a .182/.267/.227 (12-for66) line while righties hit .243/.325/.416 (101-for416) with 15 HR... Has never hit a batter in 43 career starts, the longest streak by any starter to begin his career (no relief apps over that stretch) since Baseball Reference data is available (1913)…it is the longest streak by a Rays starter at any point in franchise history, passing James Shields (38) in 2009-10... Became the first AL pitcher ever to make a pair of scoreless starts against the Cubs in the same season…earned no decision on July 5 at CHC when the bullpen yielded 7 runs in a 7-3 loss…on Sep 20 at home, threw 7 IP of 2-hit ball in an 8-1 win over Jon Lester... Went 7 IP in 4 of his last 8 starts, compared to once in 35 career starts prior to that…his first start of 7 IP came on July 24 vs. BAL, his 31st career start…since Baseball Reference data is available (1913), he was the first AL pitcher without a start of at least 7 IP through his first 30 career apps, all as a starter... On Sep 26 at NYY, faced 6 batters in the 2nd inning and did not record an out…his 1 IP was the shortest start by a Ray (excluding injury or weather delay) since Jeff Niemann on Sep 24, 2011 vs. TOR…his last 2 BF were bases-loaded walks to Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge... Made the best start of his career in the Rays season finale on Oct 1 vs. BAL, totaling 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB and 13 SO in a 6-0 victory…the 13 SO were a career high, the most by a Rays pitcher since Chris Archer on June 2, 2015 at LAA (club-record 15) and most by a Rays lefty since David Price on Sep 25, 2012 at BOS (13)…it was only the third time in Rays history a pitcher recorded at least 13 SO without allowing a run, joining Price on Aug 28, 2011 at TOR (14) and James Shields on May 22, 2011 at FLA (13)... Ended the season on a streak of 18 consecutive scoreless innings at Tropicana Field... Threw a combined 173.1 IP between the Rays and Durham, a career high, and matched his career high (2016) with a combined 31 starts… made 7 starts during his six-week stay with Durham, and went 5-0 with a 2.66 ERA (44-IP, 13-ER) and 61 SO (12.48 SO/9 IP).
2016
Named the club's Rookie of the Year by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America…ranked 3rd among AL rookies with 19 starts and 5th with 98 SO…his 3.54 ERA ranked 2nd among AL rookies (min. 10 starts) behind DET Michael Fulmer (3.06)… kept his ERA below 4.00 all season...Between the Rays and Triple-A Durham, combined for a career-high 31 starts and 152 IP…his previous highs were 24 starts in 2014 and 134 IP in 2015...His 9.91 SO/9 IP ratio led AL rookies (min. 10 starts), set a club rookie record and ranked 8th overall in the AL...Yielded only 5 HR in 89 IP with the Rays…his 0.51 HR/9 IP ratio led major league rookies (min. 10 starts), was a club rookie record and ranked 3rd overall behind OAK/LAD Rich Hill (0.33) and LAD Clayton Kershaw (0.48)...Yielded 0 HR and only 2 XBH to left-handed hitters (87 BF)-doubles by LAA Kole Calhoun and BOS David Ortiz...Opponents hit just .043 (2-for-46) with 1 2B and 27 SO in at-bats ending with his curveball…according to PITCHf/x, it was the lowest opp avg. of any pitch in the majors (min. 40 AB ending with the pitch)...Min. 75 IP, his 19.3 pitches per inning were the most in the majors and in club history…his 5.16 BB/9 IP (89-IP, 51-BB) was the highest in the majors and highest by a Ray since Seth McClung (5.94) in 2006…his 1.62 WHIP was the 4th highest in the AL and highest by a Ray since Andy Sonnanstine (1.66) in 2009....Averaged less than 5 IP per start…made 6 starts of less than 4 IP, tied for 2nd most in the majors behind MIN Tyler Duffey (7), and most by a Rays pitcher in a season since Edwin Jackson (7) in 2007…pitched less than 5 innings in 6 of his last 9 starts, including his rain-shortened finale, Sep 28 at CWS (2.2 IP)...Held opponents to 2 ER or fewer in 14 of his 19 starts, including 8 consecutive starts from July 7-Aug 22, the longest such streak by a rookie in club history…passed Matt Moore (7) in 2012...Recalled from Triple-A Durham on April 23 to make a spot start, the third Rays pitcher to make his major league debut at Yankee Stadium (David Price in 2008, Bobby Seay in 2001)-but first as a starter…his line: ND, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 6 SO…his 6 SO were the most by a visiting pitcher in his debut at Yankee Stadium since BOS Robinson Checo (6) on Sep 16, 1997… twice struck out Alex Rodriguez, who he grew up watching as a young Mariners fan…only run scored on a 1st-inning WP…left with a 2-1 lead but earned no decision in the 3-2 loss...Recalled again June 16 and remained in the majors through the end of the season...Earned his first win on June 27 vs. BOS, his fourth start, snapping the Rays 11-game losing streak with a 13-7 victory…at 23 years, 206 days, became the youngest Rays pitcher to beat the Red Sox since Scott Kazmir did it at 22 years, 160 days on July 3, 2006 (2-hit SHO)...Enjoyed arguably his best start of the season on July 19 at COL after a two-hour rain delay to start the game…over 6 scoreless innings, his only hit allowed was a single by Charlie Blackmon in the 4th…became the second visiting rookie in Coors Field history to pitch 6-plus scoreless innings and allow one hit or fewer, following SD Oliver Perez on July 7, 2002…his 9 SO were a career high (tied on July 31 vs. NYY)...Led major league rookies with 33 SO in July, most ever by a Rays rookie in the month of July…his 2.76 ERA for the month ranked 5th among major league rookies and 2nd among AL rookies (min. 25 IP) behind DET Michael Fulmer (2.67)...Made 4 starts against the Yankees, going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA (18-IP, 6-ER) and 24 SO...Finished the season with a streak of 11 consecutive scoreless innings…did not allow a run over his final 2 starts, spanning 7.2 IP, the last one shortened by rain. Ê Didn't hit a batter in any of his 19 starts, passing Wade Davis in 2009-10 (16 starts) for the longest streak without a HBP to start a major league career in franchise history...Yielded 9 unearned runs, most of any AL rookie and most by a Rays rookie since Matt Moore in 2012 (10)…unearned runs accounted for 20.5 pct. of his total runs allowed...Faced four former Cy Young Award winners (CLE Corey Kluber, DET Justin Verlander, BOS David Price, HOU Dallas Keuchel) and lost all 4 of those starts…those four opponents recorded a combined 0.87 ERA (31-IP, 3-ER)...For Triple-A Durham, went 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA (63-IP, 23-ER) in 12 starts…at the time of his June 16 recall, his 90 SO led the International League and ranked 2nd in the minors…also led the IL with 12.9 SO/9 IP…in his final start, June 10 at Lehigh Valley (Phillies), recorded a careerhigh 13 SO in 5.2 IP…had a pair of scoreless starts the week prior, earning IL Pitcher of the Week honors for May 30-June 5.
2015
Named Minor League player of the Year by USA Today and Baseball America…he is just the ninth player, fifth pitcher and second Ray to win both awards…Jeremy Hellickson won both in 2010…named Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season…Was a combined 15-4 with a 1.41 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 25 games, 23 starts with stops at Class-A Charlotte, Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham…over the past 75 years, only three other pitchers have reached his numbers for wins (15), ERA (1.41) and strikeouts (163) in a minor league season: SF Salomon Torres in 1991 (16-6, 1.41, 214-SO), BAL Orlando Peña in 1972 (22-3, 1.25, 187-SO) and STL-AL Ned Garver in 1944 (21-8, 1.21, 221-SO)…His 1.41 ERA led all minor league qualifiers and was the lowest for a full-season pitcher since Justin Verlander's 1.29 in 2005…also led all minor league pitchers in 2015 with a .182 opp avg. and ranked 4th in wins and strikeouts…Across all three levels, he struck out 31.3 pct. of all batters faced…He recorded a scoreless innings streak of 49 innings, including the first 46 innings of 2015… didn't allow a run in 21 IP at Charlotte or in his first 25 IP at Montgomery…according to Baseball America, the longest shutout run in minor league history was 72 IP by Irv "Kaiser" Wilhelm spanning 1907-11…more recently, Brad Thompson logged 57.2 consecutive scoreless frames for Double-A Tennessee (Cardinals) in 2004…Snell's streak ended in the first inning of his 2-1 win over Tennessee on May 23…allowed 3 H, 1 BB and struck out a career-high 12 in the game, including 3 SO against Cubs rookie sensation Kyle Schwarber… During his career he has faced Schwarber 8 times and struck him out 7…Twins rookie standout Miguel Sano was 0-for-5 with 3 SO in 2015, his only experience facing Snell…In his 23 starts, he allowed no runs eight times and one run or fewer 18 times…also had 2 relief innings of 5 and 6 innings in which he didn't allow a run…only once did he allow more than 3 runs: on June 4 at Jacksonville (Marlins) he permitted 4 runs in a 5-1 loss…he allowed one hit or fewer in 5 starts…had a combined onehitter in a 9-0 win Aug 9 vs. Louisville (Reds)…At each stop along the way lowered his BB per 9 IP rate: from 4.7 at Charlotte to 3.8 at Montgomery to 2.6 at Durham…issued 4.91 BB per 9 IP prior to 2015 (157-BB, 288.1-IP)…Went 5-0 in his last 6 starts with a 1.78 ERA…Pitched a perfect inning in the All-Star Futures Game in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park.
