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Ian Dante Snell (born October 30, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. From 2001 to 2003, he went by the name Ian Oquendo, adopting the last name of his wife, and during the 2009 World Baseball Classic he went by Ian Davila-Snell, adopting his stepfather's surname. He threw a mid-90s fastball, along with a curveball, slider and changeup.
In 2001, Snell split the season between the GCL Pirates and the Short Season-A New York – Penn League Williamsport Crosscutters.
Snell played the 2002 season with the South Atlantic League Champion Hickory Crawdads, a Single-A club. There he ranked fourth among league pitchers in and seventh in ERA.
In 2003, when Snell went 14–4 with a 3.00 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 26 minor league starts, split between Single-A Lynchburg and Double-A Altoona Curve, he was named the Pirates organizational Pitcher-of-the-Year.
Snell spent the majority of his 2004 season with the Altoona Curve. He set a single-season team record and finished second in the league with 142 strikeouts.
In 2005, Snell split the season between the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, going 11–3 with a 3.70 ERA, and the Pirates. While with the Indians, he pitched a no-hitter on May 15 against the Norfolk Tides. He was named the International League pitcher of the week twice, for the weeks ending May 1 and 15. He made two separate appearances for the Pirates, from June 26–August 16 and again from September 12 to the end of the season. He appeared in 15 games, including five starts. His first win came September 19, against Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros. In this game, he allowed only three singles in eight innings of work. It would be his only win in 2005, though, as he finished the season 1–2 with a 5.14 ERA in over 42 innings.
In 2006, Snell won 14 games, the most for Pittsburgh in several seasons, while losing 11 and leading the team in strikeouts.
On January 28, 2007, the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association honored Snell as the "John J. Brady Athlete of the Year", an award given annually to the best athlete from Delaware.
On March 16, 2008, Snell agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Pirates worth at least $8 million, including club options for 2011 and 2012. Snell finished the 2008 season with a 5.42 ERA and a record of 7–12. Snell had the worst OBP-against in the majors (.385) and led the National League by giving up nine triples.
Snell was demoted to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on June 24, 2009, per his request. In his first Triple-A appearance on June 28, Snell struck out 17 of 21 batters that he faced, while allowing only two hits.
Snell attributed his disappointing 2008–09 results for the major-league Pirates to depression and to disenchantment with his environment.
Snell opened the 2010 season as the second/third starter for the Mariners. He started the season 0–3 with a 4.58 ERA before being demoted to the bullpen. After teammate Doug Fister went on the DL, Snell took over his roster spot, therefore returning to the rotation, and in his next two starts, he proceeded to go 0–2 with a 12.86 ERA. On June 9, Snell had a career-worst start where he pitched only 1.2 innings, giving up eight runs (seven earned), one walk, and struck out only one in a 12–2 loss to the Texas Rangers that dropped him to 0–5. On June 11, Snell was returned to the bullpen after his career-worst start by then-Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu.
On June 15, Snell was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on June 20. Following the season, he became a free agent.
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