Myles James Noble Straw (born October 17, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and Cleveland Indians / Guardians. Straw was selected by the Astros in the 12th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, and made his MLB debut with them in 2018.

Amateur career

Straw attended Braden River High School in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at St. Johns River State College.

Professional career

Houston Astros

Straw was drafted by the

in the 12th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball Draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He was planning on transferring to the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

, but instead signed with the Astros. Straw made his professional debut with the

Greeneville Astros The Greeneville Astros were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian League from 2004 to 2017. They represented the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, though Pioneer Park (stadium), Pioneer Park, their h ...

, with whom he batted .268 with 22 stolen bases in 58 games. He played in 2016 with the Quad Cities River Bandits and

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

, slashing a combined .358/.423/.454 with one home run, 27 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases in 87 total games, and 2017 with the

Buies Creek Astros The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 201 ...

and

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

where he hit a combined .290 with one home run, 44 RBIs, and 38 stolen bases in 127 games. Straw started 2018 with Corpus Christi and was promoted to the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

during the season. Straw was promoted to the major leagues on September 15,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. He scored his first career run on September 21, 2018, off of a bunt by Jake Marisnick. He was a pinch runner for J. D. Davis. The next day, Straw recorded his first career steal. On September 29, 2018, Straw hit his first Major League home run, against starting pitcher Yefry Ramírez of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Straw batted .269/.378/.343 with 27 runs, 7 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases while being caught once, in 108 at bats. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Straw batted .207/.244/.256 with 8 runs, 8 RBIs, and 6 stolen bases while being caught twice, in 82 at bats. He played 27 games in center field, and one game at shortstop.

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

On July 30, 2021, Straw was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in exchange for reliever Phil Maton and minor leaguer Yainer Díaz. Straw finished the 2021 season batting .271/.349/.348 with four home runs, 48 RBI and 30 stolen bases between the Astros and Indians. On April 9,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Straw signed a 5-year, $25 million extension with the Guardians. In 2022 he had the lowest slugging percentage and the lowest OPS (.564) in the majors, the lowest barrel percentage (0.7%), and the highest percentage of balls hit to the opposite field (36.1%). He batted .221/.291/.273 in 535 at bats, with no home runs, 32 RBI, and 21 stolen bases in 22 attempts. On defense, he won a

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...

in center field. On August 11, 2023, Straw hit a solo home run off of

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

reliever Jason Adam, his first homer since 2021. In 2023, he batted .238/.301/.297, with one home run and a league-leading six sacrifice hits, had the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls of all AL players (18.0%), and had the lowest barrel percentage (0.5%). On March 22, 2024, Straw was placed on outright waivers. After clearing waivers, Straw was sent outright to the Triple–A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

on March 24. In 123 games for Columbus, he slashed .240/.321/.330 with three home runs, 47 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. On September 17, the Guardians selected Straw's contract, adding him to their active roster. In 7 games for Cleveland, he went 1–for–4 (.250) with 2 stolen bases. On November 1, Straw was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Columbus.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 17, 2025, the Guardians traded Straw, cash, and international signing pool space to the

in exchange for a player to be named later. On March 27, the Blue Jays selected Straw's contract after he made the team's

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 year ...

roster.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straw, Myles 1994 births Living people Baseball players from Bradenton, Florida Baseball players from Garden Grove, California Buies Creek Astros players Cleveland Guardians players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Corpus Christi Hooks players Fresno Grizzlies players Gold Glove Award winners Greeneville Astros players Houston Astros players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball center fielders Quad Cities River Bandits players Round Rock Express players St. Johns River State Vikings baseball players Toronto Blue Jays players 21st-century American sportsmen