Riley Wade Smith (born January 15, 1995) is an American former 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, ...

. He 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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Amateur career

Smith attended Hudson High School in

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas, United States and is the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and is west of the Texas- Louisiana state line. Its population is 34,143 as of 2020. Lufkin was founded in 188 ...

. Undrafted out of high school in 2013, Smith attended

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College () is a public community college in the Greater Houston area, with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Chan ...

for two years. He went 6–2 with a 2.30 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 70 innings in 2014. He posted a 7–2 record with a 2.96 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 75 innings in 2015. Smith helped lead the San Jacinto Gators to the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

World Series in 2015. Smith was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the 31st round of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, but did not sign and transferred to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

for the 2016 season. Smith went 2–1 with a 7.22 ERA over 32 innings in 2016. Smith was drafted by the

in the 24th round, with the 719th overall selection, of the

2016 MLB 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 ...

and signed with them.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Smith spent his professional debut season of 2016 with the

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League and are the High-A affilia ...

, going 2–0 with a 2.51 ERA over 32 innings. He split the 2017 season between Hillsboro and the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games a ...

, going a combined 7–4 with a 3.07 ERA over innings. He spent 2018 with the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

, going 8–6 with a 3.57 ERA over 151 innings. He split the 2019 season between the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

and the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, going a combined 6–6 with a 4.43 ERA over innings. On November 20, 2019, the Diamondbacks added Smith to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Smith was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on August 24, 2020. He made his debut on August 26 against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. In 6 games, Smith was 1–0 with a 1.47 ERA in innings. Smith made 24 appearances for Arizona in 2021, but struggled to a 6.01 ERA with 36 strikeouts in innings of work. He was outrighted off of the 40-man roster following the season on November 19, 2021. On April 12, 2022, Smith was released by the Diamondbacks organization.

Colorado Rockies

On May 2, 2022, Smith signed with the

Wild Health Genomes The Wild Health Genomes were an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2022, they were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an MLB Partner League. The Genomes were owned ...

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 ...

. On May 9, the

signed Smith to a minor league deal. He made 19 appearances (17 starts) for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

, struggling to a 4–7 record and 8.06 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 92.2 innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

Cleburne Railroaders

On February 17, 2023, Smith signed with the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijadore ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. However, prior to the start of the Mexican League season on April 5, Smith signed with the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. Smith made 8 starts for Cleburne, logging a 3–4 record and 5.73 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 44.0 innings pitched. On June 20, he was released by the Railroaders.

Cleveland Guardians

On June 23, 2023, Smith signed a minor league contract with the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

organization. In 2 games for the Triple–A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

, he pitched 5.0 innings, allowing 13 runs (11 earned) on 12 hits and 12 walks with 2 strikeouts. On July 3, Smith retired from professional baseball.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Riley 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Lufkin, Texas Baseball players from Angelina County, Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks players LSU Tigers baseball players San Jacinto Central Ravens baseball players Hillsboro Hops players Kane County Cougars players Visalia Rawhide players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Reno Aces players Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Cleburne Railroaders players Columbus Clippers players