Steve Webb
Rookie has had a quick rise to the top
LOS ANGELES — Josiah Gray, the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect made his major league debut on Tuesday night, giving the Dodgers some needed length in a bullpen game against the Giants. His line from the game won’t look that good on the scorecard, as he got dinged for three homers that resulted in four runs. But when somebody strikes out seven in just four innings of work, it’s definitely worth noting. So who is the Dodgers’ new pitcher? And, what can fans expect from him going forward?
According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, Gray’s rise to the top of the Dodgers’ organization wasn’t really expected by anyone, except perhaps Gray himself. Lightly recruited out of New Rochelle (NY) High School, Gray went college at LeMoyne, a Division II school in upstate New York. He started as a two-way player, pitching and playing infield. After a lackluster freshman year, he really turned it on in his second year of college ball, posting a 0.63 ERA while starting every one of his team’s games at short.
By the end of Gray’s college career, he was looking more and more like a professional baseball player as he had added weight and muscle to his lanky frame. He was drafted by the Reds in 2018 as the 72nd overall pick. Ironically enough the Reds would trade Gray to the Dodgers as part of the same deal that sent Alex Wood to the Reds. The same Alex Wood who would be pitching against Gray in his Tuesday debut.
“Jo Jo” as he is called spent much of 2019 cruising through the lower levels of the Dodgers’ farm system. He started with Great Lakes to begin the season, but by the end of the season he had worked his way through both Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa. Of course, 2020 was a lost year for everybody, but Gray started 2021 at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Through 42 minor league appearances in his short career, Gray’s ERA is 2.41 and he has an impressive WHIP of 0.93. Add to that 228 strikeouts in only 198 innings, and his seven strikeout performance on Tuesday is easy to understand.
Will Gray be an asset in 2021? It’s hard to say. Tuesday’s results were definitely mixed. But, if he can get the long ball under control, he will definitely be somebody the Dodgers can look to for big things in the future. If not this year, then certainly in 2022.
