Jared Shuster

Shuster is the son of Bennett and Lori Shuster, and is Jewish.[2][3] He has a sister, Alexa.[4] His hometown is New Bedford, Massachusetts.[2] He is 6’ 3", and 210 pounds, and is considered athletic, as he runs a 6.5 second 60-yard dash.[5]

Shuster attended New Bedford High School before transferring to Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, graduating in 2017.[2][6] He was 6-0 with an 0.45 ERA as a freshman at New Bedford High School, throwing in the mid-80s and touching the high-80s.[7] Then at Tabor Academy he was 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA as a sophomore, 3-2 with a 2.40 ERA as a junior, and 4-3 with a 1.26 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 39 innings as a senior while he was captain of the team.[2][8] As a junior he batted .506 with nine doubles and six home runs in 25 games, and as a senior both pitching and playing outfield he batted .347 with four home runs.[2][8] He also played basketball.[2]

Shuster played college baseball at Wake Forest University for the Demon Deacons.[9][10] As a freshman he was 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA, and as a sophomore he was 4-4 with a 6.49 ERA while striking out 94 batters in 68 innings (12.4 K/9IP, the third-highest ratio in school history) and was twice named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week.[2][1][11] As a junior in 2020 in a season shortened by Covid he was 2-1 with a 3.76 ERA, as in four starts he struck out 43 batters (tied for third in the ACC) and walked 4 in 26.1 innings (14.7 K/9IP), holding batters to a .221 batting average.[12][2][1][11][13]

After the 2018 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the New Bedford Bay Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, and was 2-4 with a 2.76 ERA and a league-leading 62 strikeouts in 49 innings.[2] After the 2019 season, Shuster played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 5 walks in 33.0 innings, and was named a league All-Star.[2][14][15][16]

His sinking two-seam and riding four-seam fastball was 92-94 mph and hit 97 mph, and Shuster's best pitch was his 80 mph changeup (that he throws over 10 miles per hour slower than his fastball, and which he throws in any count), which produced a 60% whiff rate.[17][18][19][20][7][5] He also has an improving slider.[21]

Shuster was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round (25th pick) of the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft.[1][22][23] He was the seventh first-round draft pick in Wake Forest history.[20][6] He signed for a signing bonus of $2,197,500; because the 2020 season is uncertain, 2020 draft picks will receive a maximum of $100,000 up front, and the rest of their bonus will be deferred over the following two years.[13][24][25]

Braves vice president of scouting Dana Brown said: "We think ... there’s a chance this guy could be a three-pitch mix with above-average-to-plus stuff."[4] ESPN's Karl Ravech said: "Talk about somebody who checks a lot of the boxes, Jared Shuster is one of those. His whiff rate on his changeup, it’s even as good as that guy, Luis Castillo, who has one of the best in the world."[4] Former major leaguer Eduardo Perez said: "You have to look at the release point of where he lets it go... it’s the same release point as the fastball, way over the top, and it’s hard to pick up. You’re sitting changeup, and all of a sudden here comes fastball. You’re sitting fastball, and here comes the changeup. He has the ability to do it in any count."[4]

Plans to resume the 2020 season were announced in late June. Surprisingly, Shuster was included in the Braves ‘ pool of 60 players eligible to participate in the regular season.

• Jared Shuster Twitter page

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons bio