Shane BAZ

Performance Analysis

Shane Baz produces at a tier that grades a C- performance mark for the Orioles. The 26-year-old right-hander is a 5-year veteran in his fourth professional season, and his 2026 campaign shows flashes of competence without the consistency or volume needed to move the needle on a rotation anchored by higher-end arms. His strikeout rate stands out—63 K across 12 games represents the clearest strength in his early-season profile and signals the stuff is there—but the modest win total of 3 suggests he's not yet converting those strikeouts into the kind of game-stacking results that separate All-Star-caliber starters from solid middle-rotation depth. The immediate narrative, however, tilts sharply away from his on-field output: Baz signed a five-year, $68M extension before even debuting with Baltimore, a major organizational commitment that frames him as a core building block regardless of his current C- performance tier. That contract-driven optimism—reflected in the A- sentiment grade and media coverage emphasizing front office conviction over proven results—creates a disconnect worth noting. With the Orioles sitting at 31-35 in early June and still weeks away from the season's stretch run, Baz occupies an interesting middle ground: celebrated more for Baltimore's belief in his ceiling than for what he has demonstrably delivered, but with enough strikeout stuff to keep that projection-based goodwill from feeling entirely speculative. Sustained inconsistency over the coming weeks could shift both the narrative and the grade considerably.