Ryan Smith (baseball)

Ryan William Smith (born August 13, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher.

Smith attended Garden City High School in Garden City, New York, and played college baseball at Princeton University. In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a senior at Princeton in 2019, he pitched $75 2⁄3$ innings, compiling a 3.45 ERA and 76 strikeouts. He was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 18th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.

Smith signed with the Angels and made his professional debut with the Orem Owlz of the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League, going 0–2 with a 5.26 ERA over $25 2⁄3$ innings. He did not play a game in 2020 after the minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith began the 2021 season with the Inland Empire 66ers of the Low-A West and earned promotions to the Tri-City Dust Devils of the High-A West, the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Double-A South, and the Salt Lake Bees of the Triple-A West during the season. Over 24 games (23 starts) between the four clubs, Smith went 7–7 with a 4.24 ERA and 153 strikeouts over $129 1⁄3$ innings. He returned to Salt Lake for the 2022 season. Over 32 games (ten starts), he went 2–6 with a 6.75 ERA and 81 strikeouts over $81 2⁄3$ innings. He was released on June 5, 2023.