Aaron Blair

Aaron Daniel Blair (born May 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Blair was selected in the 21st round of the 2010 MLB draft by the Houston Astros. He chose to attend Marshall University, where he played for the Marshall Thundering Herd baseball team. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Blair with the 36th pick of the 2013 MLB draft. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves by the Diamondbacks as part of a five-player deal announced December 9, 2015. Blair made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2016 for the Braves.

Aaron Blair
Blair with the Braves in 2016
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1992-05-26) May 26, 1992
Las Vegas, Nevada
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 24, 2016, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through 2017 season)
Win–loss record2–8
Earned run average7.89
Strikeouts49
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
2015 Toronto Team

Amateur career

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Blair threw a no-hitter in his sophomore year at Spring Valley High School. He was 7–0 his junior year and became a Nevada 1st Team All-State[1] player his senior year while leading all Nevada 4A pitchers with 91 strikeouts in 64 innings. He had 9 complete games out of 10 starts. He added a .449 average with 7 home runs and 43 RBIs his senior year.

Though not highly recruited coming out of high school, Blair caught the eye of Marshall University while playing for the Ohio Warhawks in the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Florida during the fall of his senior year. Blair agreed to attend Marshall on a scholarship, where he would play college baseball for the Marshall Thundering Herd. As a freshman, Blair led the team in ERA with a 2.72 while being named to the Conference USA All-Freshmen team. His sophomore year Blair led the Thundering Herd pitching staff in starts (14). innings pitched (​83 2⁄3) and strikeouts (82). During the summer between his sophomore and junior year, Blair was played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. He was named Pitcher of the Week for the first and second weeks of the season[2] as he went on to lead the Cape Cod Baseball League in ERA with a 1.17 while going 6–0 and then adding two wins in the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs. In an elimination game in the championship series, Blair went seven innings while allowing two hits and striking out ten to force a final game.[3]

As a junior, Blair was added to the Golden Spikes Award watch list.[4] Blair was named a 1st Team Conference USA pitcher.[5] Included in his season was an 8 inning, 2 hit, 11 strikeout and no run game against the 19th ranked Houston Cougars in a 4–0 win to earn Blair Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Week.[6] He finished his Marshall career with 200 strikeouts in 202 innings. Blair then became the highest drafted player in Marshall University baseball history when the Arizona Diamondbacks selected him in the 1st round with the 36th pick.[7]

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks organization

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Blair with the 36th pick in the 2013 MLB draft.[8][9] Blair signed with the Diamondbacks for a $1.435 million signing bonus and was assigned to the Hillsboro Hops of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.[10] He was promoted in August to the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League, where he won two playoff games.

Blair started the 2014 campaign in South Bend but was promoted to High A Advanced Visalia Rawhide after six starts in South Bend. In his debut for Visala, Blair went seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out nine.[11] Blair would make 12 more starts for Visalia before being promoted, this time to the Southern League with the AA Mobile BayBears. Blair dominated in his first two Southern League starts, pitching a combined ​13 2⁄3 innings, allowing 1 run and 8 hits while striking out 16 and walking 1.[12] Those performances also earned him the Southern League's Pitcher of the Week award. Blair finished the 2014 season with Mobile with a 4–1 record in 8 starts, covering ​46 1⁄3 innings with a 1.94 ERA to go along with 46 strikeouts. The season totals were a 9–5 record over 27 starts and ​154 1⁄3 innings. He struck out 171 hitters while walking 51. He was also named the Arizona Diamondbacks 2014 Minor League Pitcher of the Year.[13]

Both MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Blair the Diamondbacks' third best prospect prior to the start of the 2015 season.[14] He started the year back in Mobile and made 13 starts, finishing with a record of 6–3 and an ERA of 2.70 over ​83 1⁄3 innings before he was promoted to the AAA Reno Aces in June, where he continued his successful 2015 campaign.[15] Blair ended his Reno stint with a record of 7–2 and an ERA of 3.16 in the hitting-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was also named the Diamondbacks 2015 Organizational Pitcher of the Year.[16]

Atlanta Braves organization

On December 9, 2015, the Diamondbacks traded Blair, along with Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte, to the Atlanta Braves for Shelby Miller and Gabe Speier.[17] MLB.com ranked Blair the Braves' fourth-best prospect at the start of the 2016 season.[18] He was invited to spring training that year as a non-roster invitee.[19]

Blair began the season with the Gwinnett Braves of the Class AAA International League, and was promoted to the MLB on April 23, making his MLB debut the following day.[20][21] He made 11 starts for the team and pitched to a 7.99 ERA before being optioned to Gwinnett on June 25. Blair did not collect a win in his first stint with the Braves, and he became the first Braves pitcher to take five career-opening losses since Don Collins in 1977.[22] While in the minors, Blair injured his knee and only started nine games, pitching to a 2–4 record and a 5.98 ERA. On August 27, Blair was recalled to face the San Francisco Giants the next day.[23] He finished four innings while yielding three home runs and took the loss.[24] Due to this rocky performance as well as his struggles throughout the season at the major league and minor league levels, the Braves chose to remove Blair from the rotation so he could focus on improving his pitching mechanics.[25] He started against the New York Mets on September 19, and earned his first major league victory.[26][27] In 2016 in AAA, he was 5–4 with a 4.65 ERA, and in the majors he was 2–7 with a 7.59 ERA (with 14 home runs in 70 innings).[28] He once gave up 9 runs in one inning against the Pirates at PNC Park on May 3rd 2016. In January Blair was called up for the first time during the 2017 season on April 20.[29] In 2017 in AAA, he was 7–9 with a 5.02 ERA, and in the majors he was 0–1 with a 15.00 ERA.[28] Blair was released on May 31, 2018,[30] six weeks after having surgery to repair a torn muscle in his pitching shoulder.[31]

Second stint with Diamondbacks

On February 12, 2020, Blair signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team released Blair in May 2020.[32]

Eastern Reyes del Tigre

In July 2020, Blair signed on to play for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the Constellation Energy League (a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) for the 2020 season.[33]

Personal life

Blair's parents are Janice and Craig Blair. He has an older brother, Garrett.[34]

In March 2015, Blair became engaged to Caitlyn Morrone, whom he met in college.[35] They married in January 2017 in Las Vegas.

References
  1. "Blair Named 1st Team All State of Nevada". NevadaPreps.com. June 2, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  2. "Blair Wins Back to Back Pitcher of the Week". Capecodbaseball.org. June 25, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  3. Charpentier, Russ (August 17, 2012). "Blair's work keeps them playing". capecodonline.com. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  4. "Blair named to Watch List". Herdzone.com. February 15, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  5. "Blair Named 1st Team Conference USA". Herdzone.com. May 21, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  6. "Blair Named Louisville Slugger Pitcher of the Week". Herdzone.com. April 8, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  7. "Blair Selected with 36th pick by Diamondbacks". Herdzone.com. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  8. "D-backs stick with athleticism to wrap Day 1". MLB.com. June 7, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  9. "D-backs Select Aaron Blair & Justin Williams with 2nd & 3rd Picks in 2013 Draft". Arizona Diamondbacks. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  10. "Hillsboro Hops: Braden Shipley and Aaron Blair provide glimpse into Diamondbacks' future". OregonLive.com. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  11. Maun, Tyler (May 9, 2014). "Blair right at home in Cal League debut". MILB.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  12. "Minor League Baseball Pitchers of the Week for July 21–27 – MiLB.com News – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  13. "Jake Lamb named Arizona Diamondbacks' Player of the Year". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  14. Reiter, Cheyne (June 17, 2015). "RHP Aaron Blair promoted from Mobile to Reno". MILB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  15. Piecoro, Nick; Killian, Tyler (June 17, 2015). "Diamondbacks pitching prospect Aaron Blair promoted to Triple-A". Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  16. "D-Backs Name Aaron Blair organization's Pitcher of the Year".
  17. "Shelby Miller traded to Diamondbacks". ESPN. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  18. Bowman, Mark (May 18, 2016). "Blair sent down by Braves; Gant recalled". MLB.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  19. Bowman, Mark (March 18, 2016). "Blair, Sims show Braves they're not far behind". MLB.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  20. Bowman, Mark (April 23, 2016). "Braves call up prospect Blair for rotation". MLB.com. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  21. O'Brien, David (April 23, 2016). "Braves prospect Blair to debut with start Sunday vs. Mets". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  22. James, Pat (June 26, 2016). "Struggling Blair optioned, Marksberry recalled". MLB.com. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  23. O'Brien, David (August 27, 2016). "Back from Triple-A, Braves rookie Blair set to start Sunday". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  24. Bowman, Mark (August 28, 2016). "Blair gets knocked around in return to Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  25. Bowman, Mark (August 31, 2016). "Braves decide to remove Blair from rotation". MLB.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  26. DiComo, Anthony; Knobler, Danny (September 19, 2016). "Blair, Braves stand up to Thor in New York". MLB.com. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  27. Knobler, Danny (September 19, 2016). "Blair's dedication, patience yield first victory". MLB.com. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  28. Aaron Blair Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
  29. Bowman, Mark (April 20, 2017). "Kemp activated; Blair added for long relief". MLB.com. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  30. Bowman, Mark (May 31, 2018). "Acuna has pep in step, but Braves using caution". MLB.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  31. O'Brien, David (May 31, 2018). "Aaron Blair released by Braves". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  32. "Diamondbacks release former Herd star Blair". Herald Dispatch. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  33. Dunsmore, Ryan (July 9, 2020). "Skeeters set rosters for summer league". Fort Bend Herald. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  34. Bowman, Mark (May 5, 2016). "Mom behind Blair for every step of journey". MLB.com. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  35. Cotton, Steve (April 13, 2015). "Blair Hoping for Engagement in MLB". Conference USA. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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