Southern Maryland Blue Crabs RHP Shawn Semple Leads ALPB in Starting Pitching ERA for 2025 Season
AtL Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs RHP Shawn Semple Leads ALPB in Starting Pitching ERA for 2025 Season

Published on October 23, 2025 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs News Release


The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs' ace Shawn Semple led the Atlantic League in starting pitching ERA this season by authoring a 3.95 ERA this year. Semple was also named the lone Starting Pitcher Mid-Season All-Star.

Semple dominated on the mound, with half of his starts being quality starts, firing 11 QS out of his 22 games started. He was third in the league in innings pitched with 130. Semple gave up 133 hits and had a walk per nine innings of just 2.1, not allowing many free passes. He also tied for the league lead in shutouts with two this season, tying Matt Solter of High Point.

Blue Crabs Manager Stan Cliburn said, "Shawn was our workhorse for the Blue Crabs this season, you can always count on him to be durable and always gave us a chance to win when he took the mound."

Cliburn, who brought Semple back to Waldorf for a second season added "Every fifth day he was fun to watch, a true competitor through and through."

In early May, Semple won three starts in a row, improving to 3-0 on the young season. Over those starts, all three were quality starts, and he gave up just two earned runs over 18 innings against Charleston, Lancaster and York. On June 13th, Semple picked up his fourth win of the year, tossing six scoreless innings against Lexington, where he gave up just three hits in the 4-0 victory. His next start, he struck out his season high nine at Gastonia in a no decision, where he threw seven strong innings, allowing two runs on six hits. Five days later, in what was maybe his best start of the season, he and former major league pitcher, Mike Kickham, then of Hagerstown, were locked in a pitchers' duel. Semple pitched eight brilliant innings, scattering seven hits and allowing just one run, but the Blue Crabs were shutout in the 1-0 loss. Semple then followed that up in his next start on July 2nd, against Hagerstown again, throwing a complete game in a double header, firing seven shutout innings and striking out eight while giving up only two hits. Semple dominated Hagerstown again later in the month on July 26th, this time, Semple cruised through another seven innings, allowing five hits and just one run in the winning effort.

Blue Crabs pitching coach Jason Blanton, who was able to work with Semple this season for the first time said:

"It was very clear, right away, that Shawn was already a hard worker and very intense competitor. So much so, that he would often be excruciatingly hard on himself, very similar to everyone who is great at something in their life. He demanded the very best out of himself in everything he did, all season. With his desire to be his best version of himself, he came to the table with me bringing an open mind and a willingness to listen and learn as I did my best to make sure he felt heard and valued."

From the 2024 season to the '25 campaign, Semple's improvement under Blanton was stark. He went from an ERA in 2024 of 5.23, to leading the ALPB in ERA among starters with a 3.95.

"The biggest change he made during this season early on was to use his fastball to both sides of the plate, seeing the value of pitching in on hitters. Then he also challenged hitters with his full arsenal and didn't automatically eliminate pitches based on the handedness of the hitter. What he soon learned, was that his splitter was a great weapon against both right- and left-handed hitters. Adding that to the fact that hitters now couldn't eliminate one side of the plate against him anymore, it really opened up more opportunities to get them out in the zone vs working so hard for "chases," Blanton continued.

From last season to the 2025 season, Semple's hits per nine went down from 10.1 in 2024, to 9.2, while also striking out the fourth most batters in his nine-year career with 101 punchouts.

"The biggest piece of the puzzle, I feel for Shawn, was that he learned how to give himself grace and know that he was equipped with the answer to overcome adversity in real time. Instead of getting down on himself as much as he used to in previous seasons, he started to know he could overcome any situation while he was on the mound for his team. I'm very happy for him and proud of the work he put in this year. He earned every bit of success he had and it was well deserved," Blanton said.

Stay tuned to bluecrabsbaseball.com and our social media pages for more information on the Blue Crabs standout performances from the 2025 season, and announcements for the upcoming 2026 campaign.

Check out the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Statistics

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Atlantic League Stories from October 23, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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