Curtis James Mead (born 26 October 2000) is an Australian

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Mead was born and grew up in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Australia and attended

Immanuel College, Adelaide , mottoeng = Ever Higher / More Beyond , established = , type = Independent, Lutheran, co-educational, day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Lutheran Church of Australia , principal = Kevin Richardson , faculty = 92 (2009)

. He began his professional baseball career at 16 with the

Adelaide Giants The Adelaide Giants are a professional baseball team that plays in the Australian Baseball League. They are one of the six foundation franchises of the league, in its first incarnation from 1989 to 1999. The team adopted the name Bite or Adelaid ...

of the Australian Baseball League, whom his father Tim had previously played for. Mead also played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for the

Woodville-West Torrens Football Club Woodville-West Torrens Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). It was formed in 1990 from an amalgamation of the neighbouring Woodville and West Torrens football clu ...

under-16 team until the club required him to choose between the two sports.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Mead was signed by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on May 4, 2018. After signing he was assigned to the

Gulf Coast League Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

. He returned to the GCL Phillies in 2019 and batted .285 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. After each season, Mead continued to play for the Adelaide Giants in the winter.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Phillies traded Mead to the

on November 20, 2019, in exchange for

Cristopher Sánchez Cristopher Alexis Sánchez (born December 12, 1996) is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Tampa Bay Rays Sánchez signed with the Tam ...

. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled, Mead returned to the Giants and was named the team's MVP after batting .347. Mead began the 2021 season with the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs, where he hit for a .358 average with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 46 games before being promoted to the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

. He batted .282 with seven home runs, 32 RBIs, and an .814 OPS in 53 games for Bowling Green and was promoted again to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

for the final week of the season. After the season, Mead played for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Gia ...

in the Arizona Fall League. He was assigned to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits at the start of the 2022 season. Mead was promoted to Durham after batting .305 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 56 games at Montgomery. On November 15, 2022, the Rays selected Mead to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Mead was optioned to Triple-A Durham to begin the 2023 season, hitting .291/.379/.453/.832 with 3 home runs and 28 RBI over 46 games. He missed six weeks in May and June with a left wrist fracture. On August 4, 2023, Mead was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. On the first pitch he saw, Mead collected a single against

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

pitcher Brendan White.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mead, Curtis 2000 births Living people Adelaide Bite players Adelaide Giants players Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charleston RiverDogs players Durham Bulls players Florida Complex League Phillies players Florida Complex League Rays players Major League Baseball players from Australia Major League Baseball third basemen Montgomery Biscuits players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from Adelaide Tampa Bay Rays players