When Blake Snell took the mound for the Ontario Tower Buzzers Tuesday night, his primary focus was continuing his ramp up for when he rejoins the Dodgers in the next few weeks.
However, that focus appeared to wane when Snell began throwing warm up pitches.
In a video posted to social media, the Ontario game presentation crew surprised Snell when they played his rap song while he warmed up. As seen in the video, Snell didn’t appear to like the music and after about 10 seconds, the song cuts out immediately after Snell looks up towards the press area.
Snell threw 3.0 innings and gave up one hit with six strikeouts.
Snell’s amateur rap career started in 2012 when he released the track “Rising Stars,” which featured Snell dropping bars while wearing a Tampa Bay Rays hat. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in the supplemental first round (52nd overall) of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft.
He made his big league debut on April 23, 2016 with the Rays and quickly emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He won the AL Cy Young award in 2018 after he finished 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA but was then traded to the Padres 2021, where he won the NL Cy Young award in 2023 when he went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA.
After a short stint with the Giants, Snell joined the Dodgers last year and was lights out, helping Los Angeles win their second consecutive World Series title.
However, that long season took its toll on Snell and his high-priced left arm. Shoulder fatigue plagued him through the winter and forced him to begin the year on the injured list.
Snell has completed two minor-league starts already as part of a rehab assignment and is scheduled to next take the mound for four innings Sunday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. After that, the team will decide whether he’s ready to return or will need another minor-league outing to get further built up.
While his return status is TBD, it’s pretty apparent that “Rising Stars” will not be making a cameo at Chavez Ravine.
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