Thomas Mathew Szapucki (born June 12, 1996) 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, ...

in the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

organization. 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

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He was selected by the Mets in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.

Amateur career

Szapucki attended William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He was selected by the

in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Mets for a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $375,000, forgoing his commitment to 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 ...

Professional career

New York Mets

Szapucki made his professional debut in 2015 with the

Gulf Coast Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Bas ...

. He started 2016 with the Kingsport Mets, and was promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones during the season. Szapucki finished 2016 with a combined 4-3 record and 1.38 ERA in 52 total

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, with a 0.885

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and 14.9 strikeouts per 9 innings, between the two teams. He was named a ''

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'' Rookie All-Star. He spent 2017 with the Columbia Fireflies, posting a 1-2 record, 2.79 ERA, and a 1.17 WHIP over 29 innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, thus ending his season. MLB.com ranked Szapucki as New York's fifth-ranked prospect going into the 2018 season. He missed all of 2018 due to undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to play in 2019 with Columbia, before being promoted to the St. Lucie Mets in July, and to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in August. Over 21 games (18 starts) between the three clubs, he went 1-3 with a 2.63 ERA, striking out 72 over innings, with a 1.216 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. Szapucki was added to the Mets 40–man roster following the 2019 season. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by 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 ...

. On May 27, 2021, Szapucki was promoted to the major leagues for the first time, but was optioned down to the Triple-A Syracuse Mets the next day without making an appearance. He was recalled to the active roster and promoted to the majors a second time on June 29. He made his MLB debut the next day, pitching in relief against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, but allowed six runs in four and two-thirds innings. He was optioned back to Syracuse two days later. On July 13, it was announced that Szapucki would require ulnar nerve transposition surgery, ending his rookie campaign at one appearance. Szapucki was again promoted to the active roster on May 25, 2022, starting against the

on that day. He pitched one and one-third innings, allowing nine earned runs, in his only appearance with the Mets for the season. With Triple-A Syracuse in 2022, he was 2-6 with a 3.38 ERA in 18 games (16 starts), in which he pitched 64 innings and struck out 87 batters.

San Francisco Giants

On August 2, 2022, Szapucki, Carson Seymour, Nick Zwack, and J. D. Davis were traded to the

for Darin Ruf. In 2022 with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, he was 0-0 with a 1.08 ERA in 8.1 innings in which he struck out 15 batters. In 10 appearances for San Francisco, he recorded a 1.98 ERA with 16 strikeouts across innings pitched. On March 30, 2023, Szapucki was placed on the 60-day injured list with left arm

neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

. On May 19, Szapucki underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, and missed the remainder of the year without appearing in a game for the Giants. Following the season on November 17, Szapucki was non–tendered by the Giants and became a free agent. On November 18, 2023, Szapucki re–signed with the Giants on a minor league contract. He made only one appearance for the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Giants, and elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024.

Detroit Tigers

On February 14, 2025, Szapucki signed a minor league contract with the

.Minor League Baseball
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szapucki, Thomas 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey Baseball players from Ocean County, New Jersey Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players San Francisco Giants players Gulf Coast Mets players Brooklyn Cyclones players 21st-century American sportsmen Kingsport Mets players Columbia Fireflies players Binghamton Rumble Ponies players Sacramento River Cats players St. Lucie Mets players Syracuse Mets players