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Josiah Gray

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Josiah Gray
Gray with the Washington Nationals in 2022
Washington Nationals – No. 40
Pitcher
Born: (1997-12-21) December 21, 1997 (age 26)
New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 20, 2021, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through April 4, 2024)
Win–loss record17–27
Earned run average4.84
Strikeouts382
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Josiah Gray (born December 21, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.

Amateur career

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After not being heavily recruited out of New Rochelle High School, Gray accepted his only scholarship offer to play college baseball for the Le Moyne Dolphins in Syracuse, New York.[1] He spent his first two seasons at Le Moyne splitting time as a shortstop and a pitcher before transitioning to the mound full-time. As a freshman he had a batting average of just .265 and an earned run average (ERA) of 8.31. After becoming the full-time closer as a sophomore, he posted an ERA of 0.63.[1] In 2017, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2] As a junior in 2018, he went 11–0 with a 1.25 ERA in 13 starts.[3]

Professional career

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Cincinnati Reds

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Gray was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round, 72nd overall, of the 2018 MLB draft. He signed and made his professional debut with the Greeneville Reds, going 2–2 with a 2.58 ERA in 12 starts.[4]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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On December 21, 2018, the Reds traded Gray, along with Jeter Downs and Homer Bailey, to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer and cash considerations.[5] He began 2019 with the Single-A Great Lakes Loons,[6] and was promoted to the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in May.[7] In July, he was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.[8] Between the three levels in 2019, he made 25 starts (and one relief appearance) with an 11–2 record and 2.70 ERA with 147 strikeouts in 130 innings.[3] He was named as the Dodgers Minor League pitcher of the year.[9]

Gray did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] In 2021, Gray was assigned to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, where he was the opening day starter. However, he was shut down after the start and missed the next two months due to a shoulder strain.[11] He rejoined Oklahoma City and pitched in three more games. He had 22 strikeouts against only two walks in 15⅔ innings. On July 20, 2021, Gray was added to the 40-man roster promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[12] He made his MLB debut the same day, pitching four innings and allowing four earned runs (on three home runs) with seven strikeouts versus the San Francisco Giants. His first MLB strikeout was against Wilmer Flores.[13] He appeared in one other game for the Dodgers, making his first MLB start on July 25 against the Colorado Rockies, striking out six in four innings while allowing two runs on three hits and four walks.[14]

Washington Nationals

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On July 30, 2021, Gray was traded to the Washington Nationals along with Keibert Ruiz, Donovan Casey, and Gerardo Carrillo in exchange for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.[15] Gray debuted for Washington on August 2, 2021, vs the Philadelphia Phillies. He allowed four hits and one run over five innings for no decision.[16] On September 22, 2021, Gray recorded his first Major League win in a 6 inning outing against the Miami Marlins, in which he allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs while recording 8 strikeouts.[17]

Gray pitching for the Nationals in 2022

In 2022, he was 7-10 with a 5.02 ERA in 148.2 innings, and led the majors in home runs allowed, with 38, and the highest rate of home runs per 9 innings, at 2.3.[18]

In 2023, Gray went 8-13 and posted a career-best 3.91 ERA. He was named to the 2023 MLB All-Star Game as the Nationals' only representative.[19] At the All-Star game, Gray pitched the bottom of the third inning for the National League, allowing no runners on base.[20] The National League team would win the game 3-2.[20]

Gray made only 2 starts for the Nationals in 2024 before he was placed on the injured list with flexor strain on April 9, 2024.[21] He was transferred to the 60–day injured list on July 5.[22] On July 19, it was announced that Gray would undergo season–ending surgery to repair a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.[23]

Personal life

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Gray's father died of cancer a month after he was a second-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds. His father suffered a long illness and wasn’t able to see Gray pitch often during his last season at Le Moyne.

References

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  1. ^ a b Field, Carson (February 27, 2020). "Dodgers Prospect Josiah Gray Takes Unlikely Path To Big League Dreams". Baseball America. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "#7 Josiah Gray - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Josiah Gray Amateur, College and Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "Josiah Gray Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  5. ^ Collier, Jamal (December 21, 2018). "Dodgers deal Puig, Kemp, Wood, Farmer to Reds". MLB.com. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Josiah Gray, Jacob Amaya Headline Low-A Great Lakes Loons 2019 Opening Day Roster". Dodger Blue. April 3, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Cervenka, Ron (May 9, 2019). "Josiah Gray promoted to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes". Think Blue LA. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  8. ^ Lewis, Barry (July 17, 2019). "Drillers update for July 18: Hot prospect Josiah Gray set for debut Thursday". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Minami, Craig (September 19, 2019). "Branch Rickey honors for Gavin Lux and Josiah Gray". SB Nation. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  10. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". mlbtraderumors.com.
  11. ^ Stephen, Eric (June 20, 2021). "Josiah Gray still 'a ways down the road' from returning with shoulder impingement". SB Nation. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Stephen, Eric (July 20, 2021). "Scott Alexander to injured list, Andy Burns designated for assignment to make roster room for Josiah Gray". SB Nation. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, July 20, 2021". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, July 25, 2021". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  15. ^ Toribio, Juan (July 30, 2021). "Dodgers complete blockbuster for Max, Trea". mlb.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  16. ^ "Phillies vs Nationals Boxscore". espn.com. Associated Press. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Nationals v. Marlins – Game Summary". espn.com. Associated Press. September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  18. ^ "Splits Leaderboards | FanGraphs". www.fangraphs.com.
  19. ^ "Josiah Gray Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "All Stars 3-2 All Stars (Jul 11, 2023)". ESPN.
  21. ^ "Josiah Gray's trip to the IL casts a pall over Nationals' win in San Francisco". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  22. ^ "Nationals Select Juan Yepez". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "Nationals' Josiah Gray to have season-ending elbow surgery". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
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