St. Louis Cardinals: Anthony Shew’s journey has been about growth

As mentioned earlier, Shew wasn’t exactly touted at the major league level, but it wasn’t always that way. As with many players gunning for the big leagues, Shew had a lot going for him.

Shew is the cousin of MLB pitcher Ian Kennedy, and was instrumental in leading his Mission Viejo (in California, about 50 miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles) High School baseball team to the CIF Championship in his junior year, winning the title game at Dodger Stadium. He continued to lead the rotation in his senior season with a 2.47 ERA and earned All-League second team honors.

He moved on to Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo in 2013 and won a Scholar Baller award for success as both a student and an athlete. In his first year, Shew went 20 innings allowing no runs and just eight hits while picking up 17 Ks. He followed that up with a stellar sophomore year in which he threw 95.1 innings of 1.51 ERA ball and earned All-Conference first team honors.

He then transferred to UC San Francisco, where he became the top starter in the rotation. He started 13 games for the Dons, and finished his 90.1 innings of work with a 3.64 ERA and was named to the All-Conference second team. In 2016, Shew’s senior season, he struggled a bit to the tune of a 4.71 ERA, but his talent was enough to catch the eyes of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Despite going undrafted, getting a change with an organization wasn’t something Shew had to worry about for long. He was signed soon after the draft, just over a month after making his final collegiate start.