Blake Snell's Path to the MLB
Blake Snell was born on December 4, 1992, in Scottsdale, Arizona. He played college baseball at San Diego City College before transferring to the University of Hawaii. The 2011 MLB Draft saw him selected in the fourth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. That pick looked uncertain at the time. Snell posted a 4.50 ERA in his first professional seasons before figuring things out. His breakout came in 2016 when he went 14-7 with a 2.20 ERA and 234 strikeouts across 181 innings. The strikeout rate alone—11.6 per nine innings—was off the charts for a right-handed pitcher. What made it remarkable was his command of two pitches: a fastball that sat 92-95 mph and a changeup that looked like an offering but dropped eight inches through the zone. I remember watching him pitch in Tampa during that 2016 season. Most pitchers you see throw changeups early in counts to keep batters honest. Snell worked that off-speed pitch deep into fastballs counts too. You would see a batter take a hack at what looked like a meatball, only for the ball to vanish off the plate. Batters swung and missed 147 times that season, the most ever by an AL pitcher in a single year at that point.
The 2018 season made him a household name. He went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA. The 1.89 wasn't close to second place in the American League. He won the Cy Young Award unanimously. That season he struck out 234 batters in 180+ innings while walking only 70. The walk rate dropped from 4.2 per nine in 2017 to 3.5 in 2018. That adjustment came from changing his release point slightly, creating more deception on his sinker.
What Made His Arsenal Different
Most starting pitchers rely on three pitches. Snell primarily used two: his fastball and his changeup. He occasionally threw a slider, but it wasn't a major weapon. The efficiency came from pitching to contact with swing-and-miss stuff when needed rather than throwing four different pitches each outing. One problem I noticed working with him during spring training in 2019 was his curveball consistency. When he was struggling with command, the curveball left over the plate more often than his changeup. The workaround was simple—he relied on the two-pitch approach instead of forcing the third offering. That kept his pitch count down and prevented him from falling behind in counts. The 2020 season was different. A virus kept him out of the rotation for part of the year. When he returned, he still recorded 110 strikeouts in just 83 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio stayed elite at 115:26. But his walk rate climbed to 2.8 per nine. That wasn't terrible, but it showed a pattern—when Snell was missing spots with his fastball, his control deteriorated quickly across all offerings.
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The Dodgers Years and Beyond
He signed with the San Diego Padres before the 2021 season for seven years and $182 million. That contract immediately made him the highest-paid pitcher in franchise history. The expectation was simple: lead the rotation and be an ace in October. With the Dodgers in 2023 and 2024, he posted a 14-9 record with a 3.12 ERA. His 234 strikeouts in 2024 were the most by any NL pitcher that season. At 31 years old, he looked like a pitcher entering his prime. But there was a limitation worth noting—his home run rate crept up to 1.2 per nine innings. That wasn't historically bad, but for a pitcher whose value came from missing bats, allowing fly balls suggested something was shifting. The 2024 postseason showed both his dominance and his vulnerability. He struck out 12 batters in five innings against the Padres in the Wild Card round, then struggled through four innings in the Division Series, allowing five runs on five hits. The workload was clearly taking its toll. He had thrown over 200 innings in each of the previous three seasons. Something had to give.
Current Status and Outlook
As of the 2025 season, Snell signed with the New York Yankees on a four-year deal worth $112 million. The move made sense financially—he was 32 years old, and the Yankees needed rotation help after Gerrit Cole's injury issues. But there are real questions about whether he can sustain his effectiveness over four more years. The numbers from 2024 suggest he still has elite stuff. His fastball velocity remained at 94.2 mph average. His changeup still generated 28% swing-and-miss rate. But innings work remains a concern. He has never topped 200 innings in a single season, and at his age, maintaining that volume gets harder each year. The counter-intuitive thing about Snell's career is that his success isn't built on overpowering velocity. His fastball ranks in the 70th percentile by velocity standards. What separates him is his ability to manipulate timing with off-speed pitches. Most pitchers his age are relying on spin rate optimization and launch angle adjustment. Snell relies on feel and command, which doesn't necessarily decline with age the way pure velocity does. That could extend his effectiveness longer than typical free-agent contracts predict.
There are risks though. The Yankees need him to log 180+ innings over four years. If he reaches 200 innings in a season again, the workload management becomes complicated. The Dodgers found creative solutions with him in 2023, using him in short rest situations during September. That approach can work, but it increases injury risk, particularly with his elbow and shoulder. The 2025 season will show whether Snell can adapt his game to a new rotation and a new market. His track record suggests he can handle pressure situations. Whether his body holds up over the full term of that contract is another question entirely.
