Joey Murray
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1996-09-23) September 23, 1996 (age 27)
Dublin, Ohio
Bats: Left
Throws: Right

Joseph Murray (born September 23, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

Amateur career

Murray attended Dublin Coffman High School in his hometown of Dublin, Ohio.[1] Undrafted out of high school, he then attended Kent State University, playing three seasons for the Golden Flashes.[1] In his freshman season, Murray pitched to a 2–1 win–loss record, 3.69 earned run average (ERA), and 57 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.[2] In the summer, Murray played for the Keene Swamp Bats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.[2] As a sophomore in 2017, he went 6–1 with a 1.80 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 75 innings, and in the summer played for the Cape Cod League's Orleans Firebirds, where he was named a league all-star.[2][3] In his third and final season with the Golden Flashes, Murray posted a 9–2 record with a 2.45 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 952⁄3 innings.[2] He was named the Mid-American Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year in both 2017 and 2018.[4][5]

Professional career

Murray was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth round, with the 236th overall selection, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[6] He signed for the full draft-slot bonus of $169,600 and was assigned to the Low-A Vancouver Canadians. In 252⁄3 innings, Murray went 1–1 with a 1.75 ERA and 39 strikeouts.[2] Murray began the 2019 season with the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, and later earned promotions to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays and Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He posted a combined 10–7 record with a 2.75 ERA.[2] His 169 strikeouts led the entire Blue Jays organization.[7] Murray did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

He returned to action in 2021, but made only one appearance for the rookie–level Florida Complex League Blue Jays before missing the remainder of the season with an elbow strain.[9] In 2022, he made 5 appearances (4 starts) for Double–A New Hampshire, posting a 7.84 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 20+2⁄3 innings pitched. Murray underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2022, ending his season.[10] On July 25, 2023, he was activated from the injured list and assigned to Single–A Dunedin.[11] However, on July 29, Murray was released by the Blue Jays organization.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Joey Murray - Baseball - Kent State University Athletics". kentstatesports.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Joey Murray Amateur, College & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "#22 Joey Murray". pointstreak.com. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Cahill, Teddy (January 31, 2018). "MAC Preview". Baseball America. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Kent State's Murray, Aurora's Weber selected in MLB draft". Record-Courier. June 5, 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  6. ^ Ulrey, Jarrod (June 12, 2018). "Baseball: Murray selected in draft by Toronto". thisweeknews.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Zwelling, Arden (June 29, 2020). "How Joey Murray quietly became key pitching prospect for Blue Jays". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  9. ^ "Joey Murray - Stats - Pitching". fangraphs.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  10. ^ "Blue Jays' Joey Murray: On mend from Tommy John". CBSSports.com. CBS Sports. RotoWire. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Blue Jays' Joey Murray: Pitching at Single-A level". cbssports.com. 25 July 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  12. ^ "Transactions".

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