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Luke Raley

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Luke Raley
Raley with the Great Lakes Loons in 2016
Seattle Mariners – No. 20
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1994-09-19) September 19, 1994 (age 30)
Hinckley, Ohio, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 9, 2021, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.238
Home runs44
Runs batted in115
Teams

Lucas John Raley (born September 19, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays.

Amateur career

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Raley graduated from Highland High School in Medina, Ohio.[1] He was named to the Ohio All-State Baseball Team as a senior.[2] After going undrafted out of high school, he enrolled at Lake Erie College, where he played college baseball. In 2014, he briefly played collegiate summer baseball for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3] As a junior at Lake Erie, he hit .424 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .528 on-base percentage in 47 games.[4] After his junior year, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2016 MLB draft,[5] and he signed for $150,000.[6]

Professional career

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Los Angeles Dodgers

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After signing, Raley was assigned to the Arizona League Dodgers for one week, where he hit .625 in five games. He was promoted to the Ogden Raptors on June 27. After batting .417 in five games in one week with Ogden, he was promoted again to the Great Lakes Loons on July 7.[7] He finished 2016 with Great Lakes batting .245[8] with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 56 games. Raley was promoted again to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes for the 2017 season, slashing .295/.375/.473 with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs in 123 games.[9] He was a California League All-Star that season.[10] He began 2018 with the Tulsa Drillers,[11] being selected to the Texas League All-Star Game.[12]

Minnesota Twins

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On July 31, 2018, Raley was traded to the Minnesota Twins, with fellow prospects Devin Smeltzer and Logan Forsythe for former All-Star Brian Dozier.[13] He joined the Chattanooga Lookouts for the remainder of 2018. In 120 Double-A games with Tulsa and Chattanooga, he hit .275 with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs.[14] He spent 2019 with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings,[15] playing in only 33 games due to a left ankle injury. He was productive when he could play, and hitting .302/.362/.516 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs.[16] He played for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League after the 2019 season.[17] Raley was added to the Twins 40-man roster on November 20, 2019.[18]

Los Angeles Dodgers (second stint)

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On February 10, 2020, the Twins traded Raley, Brusdar Graterol, and the 66th pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft to the Dodgers for Kenta Maeda, Jaír Camargo, and cash considerations.[19] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he did play at the Dodgers alternate training site.[20] On April 9, 2021, Raley was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[21] He made his MLB debut that night as a defensive replacement in right field in the eighth inning. In his first at-bat, he grounded out to first base against Sam Clay of the Washington Nationals.[22] His first career hit came on April 14, an opposite-field double against Daniel Bard of the Colorado Rockies.[23][24] On April 16, Raley hit his first career home run off of a slider from Dan Altavilla of the San Diego Padres.[25][26] He appeared in 33 games for the Dodgers during the season, hitting .182 with two home runs and four RBI.[27] His second MLB home run was the longest for the Dodgers that season, traveling 472 feet at Coors Field on September 22.[28] He was called up by the Dodgers seven different times during 2021.[20] He also appeared in 72 games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, hitting .294 with 19 homers and 69 RBI.[29] He struck out in his lone at-bat in the Wild Card Game, his first postseason appearance.[27]

Tampa Bay Rays

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On March 18, 2022, Raley was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Tanner Dodson.[30] Raley began the 2022 season with the Durham Bulls, where he batted .299/.374/.575 with 7 home runs and 25 RBIs in 24 games.[9] He was promoted to the major league roster on June 21, 2022, following injuries to Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot.[31] Raley finished the year playing in 22 games, hitting .197 with one home run.

Raley made the major league team out of Spring Training, in part because he was out of minor league options. Raley played regularly for the Rays, slashing .249/.333/.490 with 19 home runs and 49 RBIs in 118 games[27] before suffering an injury on a collision during batting practice on September 16 that limited him to just one more at bat for the season.[32] One of his home runs was an inside-the-park shot on August 16 that bounced off the walls of Oracle Park in San Francisco several times before rolling away from fielders.[33][34] The Rays avoided having Raley face left-handed pitchers, though he hit .268 in his 41 at bats against lefties, albeit with worse patience and power.[35]

Seattle Mariners

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On January 5, 2024, the Rays traded Raley to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for José Caballero.[36] Raley mostly matched his 2023 performance in more playing times, slashing .243/.320/.463 in 137 games for the Mariners in 2024. He fared worse against lefties, batting .182 with a .570 OPS in 82 plate appearances.[37]

References

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  1. ^ Grindle, Albert (June 7, 2018). "Area Kent State pitchers picked in MLB draft". Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "Baseball: OHSBCA announces all-state teams". usatodayhss.com. June 17, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "#4 Lucas Raley". pointstreak.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Hoornstra, J. P. (June 10, 2016). "Dodgers' second day at draft table starts in May, ends by taking Lachance". insidesocal.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Brown, Dan. "Dreams come true". The Post Newspapers. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Stephen, Eric (June 17, 2016). "Luke Raley signing bonus". True Blue LA. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "Sports agent Leigh Steinberg files for bankruptcy". January 12, 2012.
  8. ^ "Dodgers outfield prospect Luke Raley moving on up | Think Blue LA".
  9. ^ a b "Luke Raley Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  10. ^ "Fourteen Cal League All-Stars from Inland-area teams". June 13, 2017.
  11. ^ World, Barry Lewis Tulsa. "Pro baseball: New Drillers outfielder Luke Raley has breakout potential". Tulsa World. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Staff reports. "South All-Stars prevail as home run contest decides Texas League All-Star Game". Tulsa World.
  13. ^ Walton, Ryan (July 31, 2018). "Dodgers acquire Brian Dozier from Twins for Logan Forsythe, two minor leaguers". SB Nation. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  14. ^ "Luke Raley Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  15. ^ "2019 Rochester Red Wings Preliminary Roster". Twins Daily.
  16. ^ RotoWire (November 20, 2019). "Twins' Luke Raley: Joins 40-man roster". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Jim Callis (October 22, 2019). "AFL MVP aspirant Lewis keys Salt River's clinch". MLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  18. ^ Betsy Helfand (November 20, 2019). "Twins add five to 40-man roster before Wednesday night's deadline". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  19. ^ Neal III, La Velle E. (February 10, 2020). "In final piece of Graterol-Maeda deal, Twins get Class A catcher". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Luke Raley Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  21. ^ Toribio, Juan (April 9, 2021). "Dodgers place Bellinger on IL with calf injury". mlb.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  22. ^ "Dodgers vs Nationals box score". mlb.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  23. ^ "Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, April 14, 2021". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  24. ^ "Luke Raley records his first MLB hit in the 8th | 04/14/2021". MLB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  25. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres Box Score, April 16, 2021". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  26. ^ "Luke Raley belts his first career home run | 04/16/2021". MLB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  27. ^ a b c "Luke Raley Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  28. ^ "Luke Raley tops Dodgers' longest home runs of 2021 | 11/20/2021". MLB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  29. ^ "Luke Raley Amateur, College, Minor & Fall League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  30. ^ Franco, Anthony (March 18, 2022). "Rays To Acquire Luke Raley From Dodgers". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  31. ^ "Rays Place Manuel Margot, Kevin Kiermaier On Injured List". mlbtraderumors. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  32. ^ Topkin, Marc (September 21, 2023). "Ray's Luke Raley will 'miss some time', Brandon Lowe day to day". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  33. ^ Snyder, Matt (August 16, 2023). "WATCH: Rays' Luke Raley gets crazy bounce for one of the weirdest inside-the-park home runs you'll ever see". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  34. ^ "Luke Raley gets insane bounces for inside-the-park HR | 08/16/2023". MLB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  35. ^ "Luke Raley 2023 Batting Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  36. ^ Passan, Jeff (January 5, 2024). "Rays trade Andrew Kittredge to Cards, get José Caballero from M's". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  37. ^ "Luke Raley 2024 Batting Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
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