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Spencer Horwitz

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Spencer Horwitz
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 2
First baseman / Second baseman
Born: (1997-11-14) November 14, 1997 (age 27)
Timonium, Maryland, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 18, 2023, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through July 6, 2025)
Batting average.259
Home runs15
Runs batted in62
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Spencer Elliott Horwitz (born November 14, 1997) is an American professional baseball first baseman and second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays selected him in the 24th round of the 2019 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2023. Horwitz played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Early life and high school

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Horwitz is the son of David and Laura Horwitz, and has a brother, Ben.[1] He was born in Timonium, Maryland.[2] He is Jewish.[3]

Horwitz played both baseball and hockey at St. Paul's School for Boys in Brooklandville, Maryland. In baseball, Horwitz was a 2016 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) First Team selection, and twice MIAA All-Conference as a catcher. In hockey he played as a defenseman, and led the high school to two state championships.[1][4][5]

College

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Horwitz played college baseball at Radford University, primarily at first base.[6] In 2017 as a freshman, Horwitz batted .311/.384/.481 in 206 at bats, and was named Big South Conference Second Team, and a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All American.[6]

In 2018, Horwitz batted .288/.386/.443 in 219 at bats, had 43 runs batted in (RBIs) (7th in the conference), and was again named Big South Conference Second Team.[7][1] After the 2018 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[8] In 2019 he batted .268/.392/.465 with 10 home runs and a league-leading 49 walks; he was named Big South Conference Honorable Mention.[9]

Professional career

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Toronto Blue Jays

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2019–22

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The Toronto Blue Jays selected Horwitz in the 24th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[10] He signed for a $100,000 signing bonus.[5]

Horwitz spent his first professional season in 2019 with the Rookie League Bluefield Blue Jays and Low–A Vancouver Canadians.[11] He batted a combined .307/.368/.440 with 4 home runs and 52 RBIs.[6] He was named a 2019 Appalachian League Post-Season All-Star.[12] Horwitz did not play in 2020 due to the Minor League Baseball season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Horwitz returned in 2021 to play for the now High–A Vancouver Canadians and for the Double–A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He batted a combined .294/.400/.462 with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs.[6] He had a 28-game hitting streak, breaking a 60-year-old Northwest League/High A-West League record.[3][4] He was named the Northwest League’s 2021 Top MLB Prospect, and a Northwest League Post-Season All Star.[3][13]

After the season, Horwitz played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .375/.460/.484 in 64 at bats.He was named an Arizona Fall League Rising Star.[12] MLB.com named him Toronto's #30 prospect.[14]

Horwitz started 2022 with New Hampshire, and was named Eastern League Player of the Week on June 13.[15] He was promoted to the Triple–A Buffalo Bisons following a strong start to the season.[12][15] Across both levels in 2022, he batted .275/.391/.452 in 403 at bats with 77 runs, 12 home runs, and 51 RBIs, while playing 73 games at first base and 20 games in left field.[6]

2023

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On November 15, 2022, Horwitz was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster. He was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the 2023 season.[16] Baseball America named him the Jays’ #14 prospect.[17]

Following a hot start in Triple-A, Horwitz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 16, 2023.[18] On June 18, 2023, he made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays, and collected his first MLB hit off of Texas Rangers pitcher Jon Gray.[19] He hit his first major-league home run (a solo shot) in a 7-5 win against the Colorado Rockies on September 3, 2023. In 39 at bats for the Blue Jays, he hit .256/.341/.385.[6]

During his time in Triple-A, Horwitz batted .337/.450/.495 in 392 at bats. He was voted Bisons' 2023 team MVP and the International League's top defensive infielder in a Baseball America poll.[20]

2024

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In January 2024, MLB Pipeline ranked Horwitz #9 on its Top 10 1B Prospects list.[21] He was optioned to Triple–A Buffalo to begin the 2024 season, where he batted .335/.456/.514 in 212 at bats.[22][23][24][25] Horwitz was called up to the Blue Jays on June 6, 2024, after the club designated Cavan Biggio for assignment.[26]

In 2024 for the Blue Jays, he batted .265/.357/.433 with 46 runs, 12 home runs, and 40 RBIs in 328 at bats.[6] On defense, he split time between first base (41 games), second base (39 games), and designated hitter (17 games).[6] Among qualified AL rookies, Horwitz ranked first in OPS and seventh in WAR.[27]

Pittsburgh Pirates

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On December 10, 2024, Horwitz, alongside Nick Mitchell, was traded to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin.[28] On the same day, Horwitz was then traded by the Guardians to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Luis Ortiz, Michael Kennedy, and Josh Hartle.[29] He missed Spring Training and the first 45 games of the 2025 season following a thumb surgery to relieve right wrist pain.[30][31]

International career

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Horwitz played for the Israel national baseball team roster in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[32] He played left field for Team Israel manager and former All-Star Ian Kinsler, and alongside All-Star outfielder Joc Pederson and starting pitcher Dean Kremer, among others.[33][34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Spencer Horwitz - Baseball". Radford Athletics.
  2. ^ Jay Horwitz (June 16, 2023). "Congrats to my grandson Spencer Horwitz on his promotion to the Blue Jays. A proud grandpa Jay.", Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c Scott Barancik (January 5, 2022). "Introducing: top prospect Spencer Horwitz". Jewish Baseball News.
  4. ^ a b Shelton Moss (December 9, 2021). "Radford Alum Spencer Horwitz Making the Most of Minor League Opportunity". Radford Athletics.
  5. ^ a b Niall O'Donohoe (November 26, 2019). "C's Chat – 2019 Vancouver Canadians 1B #13 Spencer Horwitz". C’s Plus Baseball.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Spencer Horwitz College, Amateur, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "2018 Big South Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "Spencer Horwitz". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "2019 Big South Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  10. ^ Eric Walker (July 1, 2019). "Horwitz has hit the ground slugging for Jays". Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
  11. ^ Mark Berman (August 11, 2019). "Ex-Radford star Spencer Horwitz becomes Appalachian League standout". The Roanoke Times.
  12. ^ a b c "Spencer Horwitz Stats, Fantasy & News". MilB.com.
  13. ^ Brian Frank (October 7, 2021). "Conversations with the Herd: Spencer Horwitz just keeps getting on base; Bisons 2023 MVP having another impressive season in Buffalo". MiLB.com.
  14. ^ "Blue Jays Top Prospects". MLB.com.
  15. ^ a b "Spencer Horwitz promoted to Triple-A Buffalo". MiLB.com. July 5, 2022.
  16. ^ "Blue Jays' Spencer Horwitz: Optioned to MiLB camp". CBS Sports. March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  17. ^ Anthony Franco (June 16, 2023). "Blue Jays Promote Spencer Horwitz". MLB Trade Rumors.
  18. ^ "Blue Jays' Spencer Horwitz: Officially promoted". CBS Sports. June 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Yitz Goldberg (June 18, 2023). "Team Israel first baseman gets first MLB hit". Israel National News.
  20. ^ "Horwitz named MVP as Bisons hand out end of season awards". MiLB.com.
  21. ^ "Chicago Cubs Land Two First Basemen on the Latest Top-Ten Prospect List". Bleacher Nation. January 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Treuden, Eric (June 6, 2024). "Spencer Horwitz Is a Blue Jays Prospect You Need to Know". Just Baseball.
  23. ^ "Spencer Horwitz expected to join Blue Jays in Oakland". Sportsnet.ca.
  24. ^ "2024 International League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  25. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays Roster Moves 3/24". yardbarker.com. March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  26. ^ Sportsdesk, B. V. M. (June 8, 2024). "Spencer Horwitz replaces Cavan Biggio on Blue Jays roster: A promising doubles hitter aims for success". BVM Sports.
  27. ^ "Spencer Horwitz," Fangraphs.
  28. ^ Matheson, Keegan (December 10, 2024). "Toronto swings trade for Giménez from Guards". mlb.com. MLB. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  29. ^ DeRosa, Theo (December 10, 2024). "Pirates acquire first baseman Horwitz in trade with Guardians". mlb.com. MLB. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  30. ^ "Pirates' Spencer Horwitz: Back from injured list". CBSSports.com. May 17, 2025. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  31. ^ "Spencer Horwitz Transactions and Injuries History | Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions and Injuries | Sports Forecaster". web.sportsforecaster.com. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  32. ^ Jonathan Mayo (February 9, 2023). "Pederson, Kremer headline Team Israel's Classic roster". MLB.com.
  33. ^ Scott Barancik (July 21, 2022). "Israel's roster swelling with stars; Joc Pederson, Harrison Bader among recent WBC commits". Jewish Baseball News.
  34. ^ "Israel drawn to WBC group in Miami". IAB – Israel Association of Baseball.
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