Riley Wade Smith (born January 15, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijador ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Amateur career

Smith attended Hudson High School in

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

. Undrafted out of high school in 2013, Smith attended

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Greater Houston with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Channelview, De ...

for two years. He went 6–2 with a 2.30 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 70 innings in 2014. He posted a 7–2 record with a 2.96 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 75 innings in 2015. Smith helped lead the San Jacinto Gators to the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

World Series in 2015. Smith was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in the 31st round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, but did not sign and transferred to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

for the 2016 season. Smith went 2–1 with a 7.22 ERA over 32 innings in 2016. Smith was drafted by the

in the 24th round, with the 719th overall selection, of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

and signed with them.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Smith spent his professional debut season of 2016 with the

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Ariz ...

, going 2–0 with a 2.51 ERA over 32 innings. He split the 2017 season between Hillsboro and the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

, going a combined 7–4 with a 3.07 ERA over innings. He spent 2018 with the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

, going 8–6 with a 3.57 ERA over 151 innings. He split the 2019 season between the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

and the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

, going a combined 6–6 with a 4.43 ERA over innings. Smith was added to the Diamondbacks 40-man roster following the 2019 season. Smith was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on August 24, 2020. He made his debut on August 26 against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. In 6 games, Smith was 1–0 with a 1.47 ERA in innings. Smith made 24 appearances for Arizona in 2021, but struggled to a 6.01 ERA with 36 strikeouts in innings of work. He was outrighted off of the 40-man roster following the season on November 19, 2021. On April 12, 2022, Smith was released by the Diamondbacks organization.

Colorado Rockies

On May 2, 2022, Smith signed with the

Wild Health Genomes The Wild Health Genomes were an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2022, they are a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an MLB Partner League. The Genomes are owned by the same grou ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. On May 9, the

signed Smith to a minor league deal. He made 19 appearances (17 starts) for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

, struggling to a 4-7 record and 8.06 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 92.2 innings pitched. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Bravos de León

On February 17, 2023, Smith signed with the

of the

.https://www.milb.com/mexican/news/lmb-movimientos-en-listas-de-reserva-17-de-febrero-de-2023

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Riley 1995 births Living people People from Lufkin, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks players LSU Tigers baseball players San Jacinto Central Ravens baseball players Hillsboro Hops players Kane County Cougars players Visalia Rawhide players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Reno Aces players