How Orioles' Shane Baz, a 'cowboy' on the mound, became a pitcher worth extending

When Shane Baz takes the mound, Drew French thinks of the movie “Tombstone.”

The Orioles’ pitching coach first met Baz in January, flying down to Houston to visit the flamethrowing right-hander after Baltimore traded for him in December. French had dinner with Baz and then watched him work out and throw a bullpen session the next day. Since then, French has seen Baz pitch a handful of times.

Baz’s demeanor on the mound — fierce but calm, methodical but dangerous — reminds French of a lawman from the American frontier.

“He’s Wyatt Earp,” French said this spring, comparing Baz with the U.S. marshal who was depicted in the movie “Tombstone” by Kurt Russell. “He’s got a lot of cowboy in him. You can imagine the eyes with the mustache and a cowboy hat in ‘Tombstone.’ He’s cerebral in nature, and it shows up physically with how he does the job.”

It’s not difficult to understand why the Orioles made Baz, who wore snakeskin cowboy boots to his celebratory news conference Saturday, the highest-paid pitcher in franchise history on Friday when they signed him to a five-year, $68 million contract extension.

Baz is only 26 years old. He’s a former top prospect. He’s coming off a healthy season. His fastball can reach 100 mph. He has a hammer for a curveball. But the Orioles wouldn’t have made that commitment if they weren’t comfortable with Baz, the person.

Since that first meeting with French in Houston, Baz hasn’t just proved to Baltimore that he has the stuff to be an elite starting pitcher. He’s shown them that he has the type of mindset, work ethic and demeanor that will help him realize that potential — a mentality he began forging as a young player growing up in Houston.

“It’s been pretty incredible to see this boy turn into a grown man,” said Lee Fiocchi, one of Baz’s strength and conditioning coaches since he was in eighth grade and the owner of Dynamic Sports Training. “The most impressive thing is he’s become more disciplined over time. I think he sees the opportunity in becoming a dude and a guy that’s depended on as your workhorse, and he’s working towards that.

“He’s a guy you can count on.”

Baz, who made his Orioles debut Sunday, might be relatively new to the organization, but his relationship with Mike Elias began nearly a decade ago.

Elias, then the Houston Astros’ scouting director, was impressed by Baz, who went to high school 30 miles north of Minute Maid Park. Amid scouting the youngster, Elias visited his home, sitting on the couch while talking with Baz and his parents, Raj and Tammy. But Baz wasn’t on the board when the Astros selected. He went No. 12 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who later traded him to Tampa Bay.

Eight and a half years later, the Orioles’ president of baseball operations was still enamored enough with Baz to trade four promising prospects and a 2026 draft pick to an American League East competitor to acquire him, and Friday, Elias made Baz the fifth-highest-paid player in franchise history.

“There’s just a lot of ingredients there,” Elias said Saturday after listing Baz’s attributes, including his velocity, stuff and clean mechanics. “He’s done very well so far, but we think there’s many more gears in there, especially with our pitching coaching and the resources that we have. We’re looking forward to working with him to tap into his potential as best as he’s able, but he’s always been viewed as a premium arm dating back to the draft. … I know what a strong worker and strong character he has, and that certainly is something that you want if you’re entering into a longer relationship.”

Baz thought he could be drafted by the Astros out of high school, but he wasn’t sure he’d fall that far. He said the person who talked to him in his living room all those years ago, to now be with a new team, trade for him and sign him to an extension, is proof that baseball is a “small world.”

As impressed as Elias was with Baz back then, the inverse was true.

“I remember talking to him at our living room table when I was a senior in high school,” Baz said during spring training. “He kind of stood out at the time of just a guy that you could tell was really diligent and just really smart. He asked all the good questions, was very nice and polite and courteous.”

As a high schooler, Baz’s long hair and fireball fastball gave off a particular vibe. The stereotype with pitchers like Baz is that they’ll be like Charlie Sheen’s Ricky Vaughn from “Major League” — a wild arm and a headcase.

But Baz could not be more different from Vaughn — except that they both throw heat.

“He’s definitely matured a lot,” said Hayden Letts, a strength coach at DST who’s worked with Baz since 2018. “When I first met him, I want to say he had just gotten drafted. He’s a young kid, he pulls up in his new Range Rover, and he’s got the fancy sunglasses on. And then when he came back in last offseason, he was a different person. It was just really cool to see how he changed in that time. Obviously, he’s a lot more mature, he’s older, and he has a really good feel for himself and his body and his process.”

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz described Baz as “even-keeled,” unemotional and diligent. Albernaz is a certified baseball nut, and he likes Baz because he’s the same way.

“He really is a baseball junkie,” Albernaz said Saturday. “He just wants to go out and pitch, and he wants to go out and put the team in the best position to win.”

Baz said the transition to Baltimore has been easier because he knew several people in the clubhouse. He played against Colton Cowser growing up in Houston, and he was teammates with Zach Eflin and Andrew Kittredge in Tampa Bay.

His seamless transition into Baltimore’s clubhouse culture was a factor in his interest in committing to the Orioles through 2030, buying out his first two free agent years. Shortly after signing the contract, Baz hopped on the sticks to play video games with Adley Rutschman and other teammates. He’s already said he’s taking suggestions from teammates about what to buy for the clubhouse, thanks to his newfound wealth.

“He fits in like glue here,” Eflin said.

Eflin was a free agent this offseason after a disappointing 2025 campaign that ended with back surgery. Baz texted Eflin early in the process, trying to convince him to return to Tampa Bay. “Dude, come sign with us,” Eflin recalled Baz texting. Then the Orioles traded for Baz six days before Christmas, and Eflin gets a text from his friend: “Dude, you’ve got to sign with Baltimore.”

“When I ended up signing here,” Eflin said, “he was a huge reason for that. I love Shane so much.”

Kittredge and Baz share a sacred bond for two reasons. The first is that they recovered from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery at the same time. The 18-month process is grueling — both mentally and physically — and the pitchers were there for each other on the good days and the bad. The second reason is Baz taught one of Kittredge’s sons how to fish.

“He’s just one of my guys,” said Kittredge, a reliever who is 10 years Baz’s senior. “The thing that I realized right away, even as a young pitcher when he came up, was the demeanor on the mound. He has this very nonchalant, very calm, quiet delivery and demeanor. Just being very cool and collected.”

Eflin described Baz similarly. When Baz warms up in the outfield and in the bullpen before a game, it almost seems like he barely has a pulse. It almost appears as if he’s moving in slow motion intentionally, focusing on every movement of his delivery. And then the ball jumps out of his hand at nearly 100 mph.

“It’s not fair,” Eflin joked. “I try to be pretty smooth with my mechanics and try to be effortless. Mine’s at 91-92. His is at 99.”

But don’t mistake Baz’s chill exterior for a soft interior.

“He’s an absolute dog,” Eflin said. “He has that killer instinct. He’s got every single thing you could want in a starting pitcher. He’s got the stuff. He’s got the mentality, the aggressiveness, the competitiveness, the intensity.”

French first saw Baz pitch in 2019 at the Arizona Fall League. “It’s an elite talent,” French remembers thinking at the time. So did everyone else. A few years later, Baz was the No. 12-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Elbow injuries and Tommy John surgery derailed his 2022 and 2023 seasons and impacted his 2024 campaign. While he didn’t have the ERA he hoped last season, he achieved his biggest goal: He stayed healthy, starting 31 games and amassing 166 1/3 innings.

After the trade, French instantly thought: “How can we level this guy up? Because we know the potential is sky high.”

French and assistant pitching coaches Mitch Plassmeyer and Ryan Klimek worked with Baz this spring on improving against right-handed hitters, adding a two-seamer after he dominated lefties last year with his elite four-seam fastball and curveball. Baz was impressed by one of his first sitdowns this spring when French and the Orioles went through how the hurler can get the most out of his stuff.

French said he and his team have more confidence in their ability to improve a trade acquisition after their remarkable success with Rogers last year. But he also believes helping Baz reach his ceiling will be easier than it was for Rogers, who had higher hurdles to clear. Baz, meanwhile, has upside that French compared with “the Justin Verlanders of the world.”

“Guys with that high-octane stuff who also learn how to pitch as they went along. Shane has that in his bag,” French said.

Since the Orioles acquired Baz, their leaders have also heaped praise on him. Despite posting a 4.87 ERA last season, partially a result of bad luck and pitching half his games in a bandbox, Baz is a pitcher who Elias believes has the potential to be a “top-of-the-rotation starter.” Albernaz went a step further and said Baz’s upside is that of a “Cy Young Award winner.”

Baz has the same belief in himself.

“When you feel like you have that type of faith behind you and belief behind you, it means a lot. It’s just exciting because I hold myself to that high of a standard too,” Baz said. “I would love to deliver on that.”

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