In high school, Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz was known as “The Wizard of Baz.” That was back when he was a two-way player, playing third base when he was not pitching.
The focus now is entirely on his pitching, and Baz the Magnificent has set tongues wagging across baseball land with his two initial outings for the Tampa Bay Rays.
It has been that way for Money Bags Baz since the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him as a first-round draft pick in 2017. He came to the Rays as the “Player to be named later” in the deal that sent Chris Archer to the Pirates for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Baz.