William Kirby Snead (born October 7, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Staten Island FerryHawks The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Amateur career

Snead attended Santa Fe High School in his hometown of

Alachua, Florida Alachua ( ) is the second-most populous city in Alachua County, Florida, and the third-largest in North Central Florida. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,574, up from 9,059 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gaine ...

. Undrafted out of high school, he then attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and played three seasons for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

season, Snead appeared in 32 games and pitched to a 3–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

, 2.40

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and 22

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 41

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, Snead went 1–0 in 28 games played, and posted a 3.15 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. In his final season with the Gators, Snead made an NCAA-leading 41 relief appearances, and in 35 innings went 3–1 with a 2.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Minor leagues

The

selected Snead in the tenth round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He received a $125,000 signing bonus and was assigned to the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

. After a single appearance for Dunedin he was assigned to the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Athletics (baseball), Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Fie ...

, where he finished the 2016 season. In 14 total relief appearances, Snead went 0–1 with a 3.62 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 27 innings. He began the 2017 season with Lansing, and was promoted to Dunedin in mid-June. Snead ended 2017 with a 7–2 record, 1.79 ERA, and 56 strikeouts in 42 appearances, and did not yield a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

. In 2018, Snead played with Dunedin and the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Ja ...

, pitching 51 total innings and posting a 4–5 record, 3.88 ERA, and 51 strikeouts. Snead continued to progress through the minor league ranks in 2019, appearing for New Hampshire briefly to begin the season before being promoted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He went 7–2 with a 3.45 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 62 innings between the two teams. The 2020 minor league season was cancelled due the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and Snead did not play professional baseball at any level that year. He began the 2021 minor league season with the Bisons, and had posted a 2.01 ERA through 31 innings before being called-up.

Major leagues

Snead made his Major League debut on July 28, 2021, against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

retiring the only two hitters he faced. He finished the season with a 2.35 ERA and 7 strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

Oakland Athletics

On March 16, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Snead,

Gunnar Hoglund Gunnar Thomas Hoglund (born December 17, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hoglund played college baseball for the Ole Miss Rebels and made his MLB debut in 2025. Amateur career ...

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

, and Zach Logue to the

for

Matt Chapman Matthew James Chapman (born April 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays. Chapman ...

. On October 5, Snead recorded his first career save after tossing scoreless innings against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. Snead made 46 appearances for Oakland in 2022, recording a 1–1 record and 5.84 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched. On March 26, 2023, Snead was placed on the 60-day injured list with a strained throwing shoulder that caused him to miss a month of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He was activated from the injured list on June 30. In 15 games for the Athletics, Snead registered a 4.63 ERA with 9 strikeouts in innings of work. On October 27, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a comm ...

. Snead elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Seattle Mariners

On January 9, 2024, Snead signed a minor league contract with the

. In 12 games for the Triple–A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, he logged a 2.92 ERA with 13 strikeouts across innings pitched. On May 8, Snead had his contract selected to the Mariners' active roster. He made his season debut the same day, becoming the 1,000th Mariner in team history. In 11 games for Seattle, Snead compiled a 4.35 ERA with 7 strikeouts across innings pitched. On June 11, Snead was designated for assignment by the Mariners. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Tacoma on June 15. Snead elected free agency on October 1.

Staten Island FerryHawks

On May 20, 2025, Snead signed with the

of the

.https://baseball.pointstreak.com/player.html?playerid=1759884&seasonid=34102

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snead, Kirby 1994 births Living people Arizona Complex League Athletics players Baseball players from Florida Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players Florida Gators baseball players Lansing Lugnuts players Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball pitchers New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Oakland Athletics players People from Alachua, Florida Seattle Mariners players Staten Island FerryHawks players Tacoma Rainiers players Toronto Blue Jays players