Shane Baz's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

The Tampa Bay Rays reinstated left-hander Shane Baz (elbow) from the 15-day injured list on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Durham. Baz is finally nearing a return after opening the year on the IL as he recovers from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in July of 2022. Although he's already made four minor-league rehab starts for the Durham Bulls, the Rays aren't going to rush him back and want to see more before they consider returning him to their big-league starting rotation later this season. In his four rehab starts for Triple-A, the 24-year-old southpaw had a 6.00 ERA and 1.92 WHIP with 22 walks and eight strikeouts in 12 innings. Baz's control could take a while to return as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Fantasy managers are going to want to temper expectations after Baz missed all of last year.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz (elbow) looked sharp during his fourth minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, giving up one run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts over four innings. This was Baz's fourth start in the minors as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, so there's an outside chance that his next appearance will come in the major-league rotation after tossing 76 pitches on Wednesday. In all likelihood, however, Baz will throw in one more rehab game before likely rejoining the Rays in early June. For his big-league career, the 24-year-old former top prospect sports an encouraging 4.02 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while punching out 48 and walking 12 through 40 1/3 frames (nine starts) for Tampa Bay. Baz is worth stashing in the majority of competitive fantasy leagues with his return on the horizon.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz (elbow) made his third minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Durham on Thursday, throwing 3 1/3 innings while allowing one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Baz threw 69 pitches on Thursday as he continues on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, and he'll likely need another appearance or two in the minors to sharpen things up before rejoining Tampa Bay's injury-riddled rotation. The 24-year-old former top prospect should be able to return before the end of May at this rate, so he's worth a stash in the majority of fantasy leagues. For his major-league career, Baz features a promising 4.02 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while fanning 48 and walking 12 through 40 1/3 frames (nine starts) for the Rays.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz (elbow) threw 59 pitches across 1 2/3 innings on Friday in a minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Durham. Baz was expected to go a bit longer in this start but ran into some trouble. He allowed three earned runs, one hit, and five free passes. He struck out one. While this was not the performance Baz expected, he did add 20 pitches to his pitch count compared to his previous rehab outing of 39. The 24-year-old has not started a major-league game since July 10, 2022. Fantasy managers should expect Baz back on a major-league mound before the end of the month but should tamper their expectations, as the Rays will likely lean on the side of caution with their young, hard-throwing right-hander.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Shane Baz (elbow) gave up three runs on three hits over three innings while walking one and striking out none in his first minor-league rehab assignment for Triple-A Durham on Saturday. Twenty-two of his 39 pitches went for strikes, and his four-seam fastball topped out at 97.1 mph. The 24-year-old missed all of last year after having Tommy John surgery. He was never expected to have a significant workload in 2024 after missing so much time, especially after he dealt with two minor oblique setbacks during his comeback. He essentially began his buildup after spring training ended and was put on the 15-day injured list on March 26. Baz will likely need several more rehab starts before Tampa thinks about activating him. Fantasy managers in single-year leagues need to temper their expectations for Baz in 2024 in his first season coming off Tommy John surgery.