Save the cake and ice cream, Shane Baz was in Pittsburgh celebrating more than his 18th birthday this weekend. On Friday, five days after the Pirates selected Baz 12th overall in the Major League Baseball draft, the prep right-hander out of Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas, signed his first professional contract, foregoing his commitment to TCU.
“I might have the best 18th birthday of all time,” Baz said Friday at PNC Park, the night before his birthday. “I don’t know what more anyone could ask for than something like this.”
Baz agreed to a signing bonus of $4,100,000, according to an industry source. The number is slightly over slot value for the pick, which was $4,032,000. The Pirates’ overall draft pool, covering their 12 picks in the first 10 rounds, is $10,135,900.
Baz is the first high school pitcher drafted in the first round by the Pirates since they took right-hander Jameson Taillon second overall in 2010. Taillon went to high school in The Woodlands, Texas, about 12 miles from Concordia Lutheran. Baz said the Pirates’ proven ability to develop top talents was a big draw as he weighed a college scholarship against going pro.
“They track record of everything — not only development, but their unbelievable franchise, their history,” Baz said. “Some of the guys they’ve produced have been some of the best big leaguers that there have ever been. That was something I couldn’t pass up. … Their development’s got to be bar none, especially with pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Jamo, guys like that.”
Baz’s father, Raj, said he spoke with general manager Neal Huntington on the phone Tuesday, the day after his son was drafted, and got a good feeling about the relationship. He praised Pirates area scout Wayne Mathis and said the organization has been “absolutely first class.”
“They’ve been very gracious to Shane,” he said. “He’s going to give it right back.”
As a junior at Concordia Lutheran, Baz had a 1.06 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 23 innings. After that, attention increased. Baz started attending showcases last summer — “I think I was one of the last guys the list to those things,” he said — and was selected for the USA Baseball 18-and-under national team for a tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, last fall.
A boyhood dream was in sight. Baz said he’s wanted to be a professional baseball player since he was 2 or 3. His mother, Tammy, added, “Before he could walk, he could throw a baseball straight to me.” This spring, Baz posted a 0.93 ERA and batted .431 for Concordia Lutheran, which also produced infielder Ke’Bryan Hayes, whom the Pirates drafted 32nd overall in 2015.
“To have this dream come true, it means everything, said Baz, who will report to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates to begin his professional career.
A year ago, the Pirates were unable to sign a pitcher pledged to TCU, as left-hander Nick Lodolo, taken 41st overall, chose college over the Pirates’ offer. Baz was considered a tough sign, someone who could have gone the college route in hopes of fielding a higher signing bonus three years down the road. In the end, the Pirates’ offer was enough.
At Baz’s introductory press conference, Huntington spoke of his character.
“From a baseball-traits standpoint, he checked a lot of boxes for us,” Huntington said. “But as importantly, we want to understand the young man. I told Tammy that everybody that watched Shane loved the way he competed and the way he got after it and the way he left it out there on the baseball field. …
“We understand it’s going to be hard. He’s going to face the best players that he’s faced, maybe outside of Team USA. There’s going to be some long, hard days, and it’s not going to be easy. But we believe we can help him through that. We believe he’s got a great foundation that’s been put in place by a wonderful family and by the hard work that he’s put in.”
It was an emotional weekend for Baz, and one which separated two chapters in his career. It was a first trip to Pittsburgh for Baz, his father, his mother — who late last year discovered the breast cancer she had battled since July 2015 was in remission — and his sister, Mariah. They marveled at the city.
“It’s already got my heart,” Baz said. “I love it.”
Stephen J. Nesbitt: snesbitt@post-gazette.com and Twitter @stephenjnesbitt.
First Published: June 16, 2017, 9:38 p.m.
Updated: June 17, 2017, 2:56 a.m.
