| Chase Shugart | |
| Team: | Boston Red Sox |
| Number: | 61 |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Birth Date: | 24 October 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Bridge City, Texas, U.S. |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | August 15 |
| Debutyear: | 2024 |
| Debutteam: | Boston Red Sox |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2024 season |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 0–0 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 4.15 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 8 |
| Teams: |
|
Chase C. Shugart (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
Shugart attended Bridge City High School in Bridge City, Texas, where he played football and baseball.[1] As a junior in 2014, he compiled a 10–1 win–loss record and a 1.64 earned run average (ERA) with 127 strikeouts in innings pitched, and in 2015, as a senior, he was 10–2 with a 0.67 ERA and, as a batter, had a .544 batting average with nine home runs and 27 runs batted in (RBIs).[2] [3] Shugart was not selected in the 2015 MLB draft, and he enrolled at the University of Texas to play college baseball for the Texas Longhorns.
As a freshman at Texas in 2016, Shugart made 32 appearances, all in relief, and pitched to a 2–3 record and 4.53 ERA.[4] In 2017, as a sophomore, he was 3–2 with a 3.43 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 42 innings pitched out of the bullpen.[5] After the season, he pitched for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6] [7] Shugart transitioned from a reliever to a starting pitcher as a junior in 2018.[8] [9] He pitched for Texas in the 2018 College World Series until the Longhorns were eliminated by the Florida Gators on June 19.[10] He finished his junior year with a 5–3 record and a 4.36 ERA in innings pitched.[11]
On June 6, 2018, Shugart was selected by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 12th round of the 2018 MLB draft, with the 370th overall pick.[12] On June 22, Shugart announced via Twitter that he would forego his final year at Texas in order to sign with the Red Sox.[13] He signed with Boston on July 6,[14] [15] and first pitched in mid-August for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox, where he made three appearances with a 1.80 ERA in five innings of work. In late August, he was assigned to the Lowell Spinners of the Low–A New York-Penn League, with whom he made one scoreless appearance.
On March 22, 2019, MLB suspended Shugart for fifty games "after a second positive test violating the drug prevention and treatment program."[16] [17] Shugart subsequently made his first appearance of the 2019 season on May 27 with the Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League, spending the remainder of the year there. Over 16 starts, Shugart went 6–4 with a 2.81 ERA, striking out 73 over innings.[18] After the 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shugart was invited to participate in the Red Sox' fall instructional league.[19] For the 2021 season, Shugart returned to Greenville, now members of the High-A East, started 22 games and pitched to a 6–6 record, a 4.78 ERA, and 93 strikeouts over innings.[20] He opened the 2022 season with the Portland Sea Dogs of the Double-A Eastern League and moved into the bullpen.[21] In early July, he was promoted to the Worcester Red Sox of the Triple-A International League.[22] On August 4, he pitched two innings of a combined no-hitter alongside Michael Wacha and Andrew Politi versus the Durham Bulls.[23] Over 45 games (one start) between the two affiliates, Shugart went 5–5 with a 5.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts over innings.[24]
Shugart spent the entirety of the 2023 season with Triple–A Worcester. In 40 appearances with the club, he struggled to an 8.22 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 4 saves over 46 innings pitched.[25] He returned to Worcester to begin the 2024 campaign.
On August 12, 2024, Shugart was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[26]