Shane Peter McClanahan (born April 28, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020.

Early life

McClanahan was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland, and lived there until age five. He attended

Cape Coral High School Cape Coral High School is located in Cape Coral, Florida. It is one of six high schools in the city of Cape Coral and is also a part of the Lee County School District system. As of the 2020-2021 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,602 ...

Cape Coral, Florida Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...

. McClanahan went from throwing 82-84 MPH in his junior year to throwing in the low 90s after hitting a growth spurt, which brought him from 5’6 to 6 foot between his junior and senior year. During his high school career he went 29–7 with a 1.02 earned run average (ERA) and 187

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 123

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 26th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

. He did not sign with the Mets and attended the University of South Florida (USF)

College career

McClanahan did not play his freshman year at USF in 2016, after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. He returned from the injury in 2017, going 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA and 104 Strikeouts in 15 starts as a redshirt freshman. In 2018, McClanahan made 14 starts for USF tallying a league best 120 strikeouts, while going 5-6 with a 3.42 ERA. McClanahan’s 120 strikeouts rank fourth on USF's single-season list along with allowing just 6.01 hits per nine innings in 2018, ranking 18th in the country. McClanahan was part of USF's first combined no-hitter against Army on March 16, 2018, a game in which he struck out a career high 15 hitters becoming just the second USF pitcher to strike out 100 or more in back-to-back seasons. Entering the

2018 MLB Draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

, McClanahan was considered one of the top prospects available in the draft.

Professional career

Minor Leagues

The Tampa Bay Rays selected McClanahan with the 31st overall selection in the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. He signed with the Rays for a $2,230,100

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He made his professional debut with the

GCL Rays The Florida Complex League Rays are a minor league baseball team in Port Charlotte, Florida, competing as a Rookie-level team in the Florida Complex League as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast ...

and was promoted to the Princeton Rays in mid-August. In seven innings pitched between the two teams, he did not give up a run. He began 2019 with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

, was their Opening Day starter, and earned Midwest League All-Star honors. He was promoted to the Charlotte Stone Crabs in June after posting a 4–4 record in 11 appearances (10 starts) with a 3.40 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched.

Tampa Bay Rays

2020-2021

McClanahan was selected to the 40-man roster and added to the Rays’ Wild Card roster ahead of their series vs the Toronto Blue Jays on September 29, 2020. He made his debut on October 5, 2020, against the Yankees in the

ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

, becoming the first pitcher to have their debut in the postseason and fifth player overall, following

Alex Kirilloff Alexander David Kirilloff (born November 9, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020. Amateur career Kirilloff played baseball ...

Adalberto Mondesi Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Adalbert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. It derives from the Old German '' Athala'' (meaning noble) and ''Berth'' (meaning bright). Notable people ...

Mark Kiger Mark Winston Kiger (born May 30, 1980) is an American former professional baseball infielder. Kiger made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in the 2006 postseason, and never played in an MLB regular season game. He is the only player in major ...

, and

Bug Holliday James Wear "Bug" Holliday (February 8, 1867 – February 15, 1910) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball for ten seasons, in the 1885 World Series and from through . He was the first player to make his major league debut in ...

. On April 28, 2021, The Rays promoted McClanahan to the MLB. He made his regular season debut against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

pitching 4 innings allowing 2 runs and 5 Strikeouts. On September 11, 2021, McClanahan was placed on the 10-day IL with back tightness. He was activated on September 19. He finished the 2021 season going 10–6 record with a 3.43 ERA and 141 strikeouts in innings.

2022 season

After finishing a solid rookie season in 2021, the Rays named McClanahan as the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

starter for the 2022 season. On April 24, McClanahan took a no-hitter into the 7th inning against the Boston Red Sox. On April 30, McClanahan had a career high 11 strikeouts in 5 innings against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. On May 11, McClanahan pitched 7 shut out innings and striking out 11 against the Los Angeles Angels. He was awarded the

American League Player of the Week In Major League Baseball (MLB), the Player of the Week Award is given weekly during the regular season to two outstanding players, one each in the National League (NL) and American League (AL). The NL first awarded the honor during the season, an ...

for the week of May 8-14. McClanahan was selected to the

2022 MLB All-Star Game The 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Do ...

, after ending the first half of the season going 10-3 with a 1.72 ERA and 147 strikeouts. McClanahan was named the starting pitcher for the American League in the All-Star game. He pitched 1 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. On August 31, McClanahan was placed on the 15-day IL due to a left shoulder impingement. He was activated from the IL on September 15. McClanahan finished the 2022 regular season pitching 166.1 innings, going 12-8, with 194 Strikeouts and a 2.54 ERA. He led the American League in numerous categories, such as SO/9,

Strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted ...

, and Wins Above Replacement. He also finished second in

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

and Opponent Batting average, finishing behind Justin Verlander.

Personal life

McClanahan is in a relationship with soccer player Andrea Rán Snæfeld Hauksdóttir. The couple met while they attended college at the University of South Florida.

References

External links

USF Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClanahan, Shane 1997 births Living people People from Cape Coral, Florida Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Rays players American League All-Stars South Florida Bulls baseball players Gulf Coast Rays players Princeton Rays players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players