Dodgers Prospect Watch: Josiah Gray
Name: Josiah Gray.
Vitals: Starting pitcher. 6' 1", 190, age 22, bats right, throws right. From New Rochelle, New York.
How acquired: Traded by Cincinnati Reds with Homer Bailey and Jeter Downs for Kyle Farmer, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and cash, December 21, 2018.
Highest level of play: 2019 AA-Tulsa Drillers.
Potential date for major league debut: 2020-2021.
Spring Training 2020 stats: 1 GS, 1 1/3 IP, 0 Ks, 0 BB, 3 H, 2 ER, 13.50 WHIP (0-1, 3.00 ERA).
Baseball America scouting report (subscription required):
“Other pitchers throw harder, but Gray misses more bats because of the life on his fastball and his ability to maintain his top-end velocity and command late into games…strong, athletic physique…fastball sits 92-96 mph…routinely lands his above-average 84-88 mph slider with late snap for strikes…firm upper 80s changeup…above-average control…highly intelligent and an elite competitor…led [the Dodgers] system in ERA (2.28) and strikeouts (147) and was named the organization's [2019] minor league pitcher of the year…cemented himself as part of the Dodgers future rotation plans with his breakthrough 2019.”
Comment: In trading him to Los Angeles with Jeter Downs for three expiring contracts and cash in 2018, the Reds seemed to have no idea what they had in Josiah Gray. And I have no idea why, because after completing his senior year in 2018 at Le Moyne College with a perfect 11-0 mark, a 1.25 ERA and 0.889 WHIP, Gray made 12 starts for the Reds rookie-ball Greenville club, with a 2.58 ERA and 0.887 WHIP, with 59 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings. But Cincy's loss is Andrew Friedman's gain. Big time.
The Dodgers couldn't take the ball out of Gray's hands for as much as a single start in 2019. Nor could they keep him in a single place for long without promoting him. Reporting to L.A.'s Low-A Great Lake Loons to start the season, Gray made five starts, recording a 1.93 ERA, a 0.857 WHIP, with 26 strikeouts in 23 1/3.
Next, at the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Gray started another 12 games, winning seven without loss, with a 2.14, a .0965 and 80 Ks in 67 1/3. So off to AA-Tulsa he went for another nine starts, a 2.75, a 1.119 and 41 in 39 1/3.
All told in the first year of his Dodgers career, Gray went 11-2, with a 2.28 ERA, a 0.992 WHIP, with 147 Ks in 130 frames. So it's safe to say that the young right-hander from New Rochelle, New York made an impression quickly in Los Angeles, California. And at Great Lakes, Michigan, at Rancho Cucamonga, California, and at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Translation? Gray takes the ball every fifth day, prevents hits, walks and runs while getting more than his fair share of strikeouts and winning games wherever he goes. In college, and with four minor league teams in two systems in less than two seasons.
Conclusion? The Reds messed up. Look for Gray to be a mainstay in the Dodgers system, and with the big club, sooner rather than later.
And remember, glove conquers all.
Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.
