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Josiah Gray (born December 21, 1997) is an American
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 ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
for the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
of
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 has played in MLB for the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
. He was drafted by the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
in the second round of the
2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...
.


Amateur career

After not being heavily recruited out of
New Rochelle High School New Rochelle High School (NRHS) is a public high school in New Rochelle, New York. It is part of the City School District of New Rochelle and is the city's sole public high school. Its student body represents 60 countries from around the world. I ...
, Gray accepted his only scholarship offer to play
college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
at
Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, New York.http://www.ongov.net/planning/haz/documents/Section9.7-TownofDeWitt.pdf It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946 and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. At its fo ...
in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. He spent his first two seasons at Le Moyne splitting time as a shortstop and a pitcher before transitioning to the mound full-time. As a freshman he had a
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
of just .265 and an
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) of 8.31. After becoming the full-time closer as a sophomore, he posted an ERA of 0.63. In 2017, he played
collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
with the
Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
. As a junior in 2018, he went 11–0 with a 1.25 ERA in 13 starts.


Professional career


Cincinnati Reds

Gray was drafted by the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
in the second round, 72nd overall, of the
2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...
. He signed and made his professional debut with the
Greeneville Reds The Greeneville Reds were a Minor League Baseball team of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. They represented the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, though Pioneer Park, their home stadium, was located in the nearby city of Tusculum on the campu ...
, going 2–2 with a 2.58 ERA in 12 starts.


Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 21, 2018, the Reds traded Gray, along with
Jeter Downs Jeter Deion Downs (born July 27, 1998) is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he bats and throws right-handed. Ear ...
and
Homer Bailey David Dewitt "Homer" Bailey Jr. (born May 3, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds from 2007 through 2018, the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics in 2019 ...
, to the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in exchange for
Matt Kemp Matthew Ryan Kemp (born September 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2003, and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Dodgers fr ...
, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood,
Kyle Farmer James Kyle Farmer (born August 17, 1990) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds. Career Amateur sp ...
and cash considerations. He began 2019 with the Single-A
Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...
, and was promoted to the High-A
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...
in May. In July, he was promoted to the Double-A
Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...
. Between the three levels in 2019, he made 25 starts (and one relief appearance) with an 11–2 record and 2.70 ERA with 147 strikeouts in 130 innings. He was named as the Dodgers Minor League pitcher of the year. Gray did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In 2021, Gray was assigned to the Triple-A
Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...
, where he was the
opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
starter. However, he was shut down after the start and missed the next two months due to a shoulder strain. He rejoined Oklahoma City and pitched in three more games. He had 22 strikeouts against only two walks in 15⅔ innings. On July 20, 2021, Gray was added to the 40-man roster promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the same day, pitching four innings and allowing four earned runs (on three home runs) with seven strikeouts versus the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
. His first MLB strikeout was against
Wilmer Flores Wilmer Alejandro Flores Garcia (born August 6, 1991), nicknamed "Catire", is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). On his 16th birthday in 2007, Flores signed as an internatio ...
. He appeared in one other game for the Dodgers, making his first MLB start on July 25 against the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
, striking out six in four innings while allowing two runs on three hits and four walks.


Washington Nationals

On July 30, 2021, Gray was traded to the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
along with Keibert Ruiz, Donovan Casey, and Gerardo Carrillo in exchange for
Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...
and
Trea Turner Trea Vance Turner (born June 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner pla ...
. Gray debuted for Washington on August 2, 2021 vs 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 ...
. He allowed four hits and one run over five innings for no decision. On September 22, 2021 Gray recorded his first Major League win in a 6 inning outing against the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...
, in which he allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs while recording 8 strikeouts. In 2022 he was 7-10 with a 5.02 ERA in 148.2 innings, and led the majors in home runs allowed, with 38, and the highest rate of home runs per 9 innings, at 2.3.


Personal life

Gray's father died of cancer a month after he was a second-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds. His father suffered a long illness and wasn’t able to see Gray pitch often during his last season at Le Moyne. Gray has a girlfriend, Riley Wilde, whom he has been in a relationship with since 2016.https://vidmid.com/news/dodgers-josiah-gray-age-height-wikipedia-girlfriend-parents-and-salary?uid=273254


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Josiah 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York Baseball players from New York (state) African-American baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Dodgers players Washington Nationals players Le Moyne Dolphins baseball players Chatham Anglers players Danbury Westerners players Greeneville Reds players Great Lakes Loons players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople New Rochelle High School alumni