For the second time in three days, a University of Hawaii baseball player signed a free agent contract with an MLB team.
Junior pitcher Cade Smith signed with the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday and is the third Rainbow Warrior this offseason to be offered a contract by a major league club.
Smith is the third Rainbow Warrior pitcher to get a call this offseason and take the team up on the offer. The right-handed pitcher joins redshirt junior Carter Loewen (San Diego Padres, undrafted free agent) and Jeremy Wu-Yelland (Boston Red Sox, fourth round) as the three MLB signees or draftees thus far in 2020.
The Vancouver, B.C., Canada native threw in 34 total games for Hawaii over his three years in Manoa with 15 starts and a career ERA of 4.54. Smith struck out 113 batters in 117.0 total innings.
As a junior, Smith started 2020 a part of the starting rotation before throwing out of the bullpen in his final three appearances of the year. Smith’s 3.48 ERA as a reliever was highlighted by a career-high nine strikeout appearance against Oregon on March 7.
In his sophomore season, the righty finished with a 2-2 record over 59.2 innings pitched with seven starts. As a freshman, started six of his 13 games played and struck out 37 batters in 39 innings.
Three or more Rainbow Warriors have been drafted or signed free agent contracts with MLB clubs in three of the last four years.