Patrick Bowen Schultz (born September 25, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays.

Bo Schultz
Schultz with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015
Pitcher
Born: (1985-09-25) September 25, 1985 (age 39)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
March 22, 2014, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Last MLB appearance
September 18, 2016, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
Win–loss record0–3
Earned run average4.54
Strikeouts46
Teams

High school and college

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Schultz attended Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas, where he won a state title and was a teammate of future big leaguer, Chris Young. Northwestern University, where he played college baseball for the Northwestern Wildcats.[1] He had a 3–10 win–loss record and a 9.13 earned run average (ERA) in college.[2]

Professional career

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Oakland Athletics

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Not selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, Schultz signed with the Oakland Athletics as an undrafted free agent. He was assigned to the Arizona League Athletics for the season, where he pitched to a 4–3 win–loss record, 5.24 ERA, and 30 strikeouts in 4423 innings.[3] In 2009, Schultz was promoted to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League. In 26 relief appearances totaling 44 innings pitched, Schultz would post a 2–3 record, 2.66 ERA, and 48 strikeouts.[3] He was also named the league's Pitcher of the Week on September 7.[4]

Continuing his progression through the minor leagues, Schultz was promoted to the Class-A Kane County Cougars, where he would go 6–1 with a 2.87 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 7513 innings.[3] He struggled in the 2011 season, making seven appearances for the Advanced-A Stockton Ports and posting a 14.85 ERA before being released by the Athletics organization.[3] He signed with the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and spent the remainder of the season there. Schultz made 37 total appearances for Grand Prairie, and pitched to a 4–3 record, 4.12 ERA, and 54 strikeouts in 72 innings.[3]

Arizona Diamondbacks

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In early 2012, Schultz signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization,[5] and was assigned to the Advanced-A Visalia Rawhide. He would later earn a promotion to the Double-A Mobile BayBears, and in total, made 46 relief appearances in the 2012 season, posting a 6–5 win–loss, 3.58 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 5513 innings.[3] Schultz opened the 2013 season with Mobile, and made 20 appearances, 16 of which were starts. He was then promoted to the Triple-A Reno Aces, where he made 17 relief appearances to end the season. Schultz posted a combined 5–6 record, 3.35 ERA, and 75 strikeouts in 10423 innings.[3] He was added to the Diamondbacks' 40-man roster after the end of the season.[6] In the offseason, Schultz made seven starts for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, posting a 3–0 win–loss record, 3.09 ERA, and 28 strikeouts in 32 total innings.[3]

Schultz competed for a spot on the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster in spring training in 2014. With the ability to carry ten relievers on the roster for a two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Sydney, Australia,[7] he was named to their Opening Day roster,[8] with the expectation that the Diamondbacks would assign him back to Triple-A after the series.[7] He made his MLB debut on March 22, 2014.[9] Schultz made four relief appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2014, pitching to a 0–1 record, 7.88 ERA, and five strikeouts in eight innings. In Triple-A that year, Schultz would post a 10–8 record with a 6.18 ERA and 82 strikeouts in a career-high 13513 innings.[3]

Toronto Blue Jays

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On October 7, 2014, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Schultz from the Diamondbacks on waivers.[10] Schultz was optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on March 25, 2015. He was recalled on May 29.[11] Schultz made his debut for the Blue Jays on June 2, pitching two relief innings against the Washington Nationals. On July 23, he earned his first MLB save, closing out a 5–2 win over the Oakland Athletics. Schultz ended the year with a 0–1 record, 3.56 ERA, and 31 strikeouts in 43 total innings.[1]

During the 2015 offseason, Schultz underwent left hip surgery, and was expected to miss most if not all of 2016 spring training.[12] Schultz was recalled from the Bisons on June 26, 2016.[13] He was optioned back to Buffalo on July 27, following the acquisition of Joaquín Benoit.[14] Schultz was recalled by the Blue Jays on August 27, after Aaron Loup was designated for assignment.[15] Schultz made 16 relief appearances in 2016, and went 0–1 with a 5.51 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 1613 innings.[1]

On March 27, 2017, the Blue Jays confirmed that Schultz would open the 2017 season on the disabled list due to an elbow injury.[16] The following day, it was announced that Schultz would have surgery on his right elbow to remove bone chips and examine his ulnar collateral ligament.[17] On March 29, Schultz underwent Tommy John surgery.[18] On November 1, 2017, Schultz was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo.[19] He elected free agency on November 7.[20]

Pittsburgh Pirates

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On January 5, 2018, Schultz signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.[21] He made 32 appearances out of the bullpen for the High–A Bradenton Marauders and Triple–A Indianapolis Indians, pitching to a 1.43 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 3 saves across 27+23 innings of work. Schultz elected free agency following the season on November 2.[22]

Baltimore Orioles

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On January 11, 2019, Schultz signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He was released on March 20, 2019.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Bo Schultz Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  2. ^ "Schultz continues to defy odds on the mound". MLB.com. March 30, 2014. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bo Schultz Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Rob Fai. "Article | Vancouver Canadians News". Milb.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. ^ "BayBears' Bo Schultz still chasing the big-league dream five games at time". al.com. July 23, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  6. ^ "D-backs select the contracts of Ender Inciarte and Bo Schultz". Arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Delgado, Bradley battling for fifth-starter role | dbacks.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. ^ "D-backs announce 2014 Opening Day roster". Arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com. March 21, 2014. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  9. ^ "D-backs' Cahill struggles in first start of season". Arizonasports.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  10. ^ "Blue Jays claim RHP Schultz from Diamondbacks". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Singh, David (May 29, 2015). "Blue Jays call up reliever Schultz from triple-A". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  12. ^ Wilner, Mike (March 4, 2016). "Blue Jays' reliever Schultz working his way back from hip surgery". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Davidi, Shi (June 26, 2016). "Blue Jays place Gavin Floyd on DL with shoulder issue". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  14. ^ "Blue Jays' Bo Schultz: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  15. ^ "Blue Jays recall Bo Schultz, designate Aaron Loup for assignment". Sportsnet. August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  16. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (March 27, 2017). "Schultz visiting specialist for sore right elbow". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  17. ^ Davidi, Shi (March 28, 2017). "Blue Jays reliever Bo Schultz scheduled for elbow surgery". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  18. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (March 29, 2017). "Schultz sidelined after Tommy John surgery". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  19. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (November 1, 2017). "Blue Jays drop 2 pitchers, outfielder from roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  20. ^ Eddy, Matt (November 7, 2017). "Minor League Free Agents 2017". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  21. ^ "Pirates sign two RHPs to minors deals". bucsdugout.com. January 5, 2018.
  22. ^ "Minor League Free Agents 2018". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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