PG Draft Spotlight: Murf Gray

Tyler Henninger

Murf Gray

Position: 3B
Height: 6-4
Weight: 230
Bats/Throws: R-R
Birthdate: December 30, 2003
High School: Madera South
City, State: Madera, CA
College Team: Fresno State

Frame/Setup

Gray features a physical, yet athletic frame at 6-foot-4, 230-pounds. There is loads of strength throughout the body, including strong forearms and thick lower half. That strength gets used efficiently at the plate with a super simple operation. Gray starts with a balanced, even base and relaxed hand setup near the shoulder. The timing mechanism could not get any simpler. Gray stays quiet with a simple stride, but still creates separation with the hands. A clean path through the zone that gets one plane early and stays in the zone a long time. The barrel is fired on time consistently and can hammer balls in the zone. There is plenty of strength to the hands at contact that allow for balls to jump off the barrel. Gray can get extended out front and lift balls in the air consistently. The simplicity and explosiveness make for a very intriguing swing.

Tools

The power is what carries the profile and only continues to get better. Gray shows big time juice that plays to all fields, but really stands out to the pull side. He can go deep at any time and has some middle of the order traits. Along with the power, Gray has shown continued development to the hit tool. He can barrel balls that are in the zone extremely well. There is not a ton of swing and miss to the profile as Gray has posted a 11% K-rate in his two years at Fresno State. Continuing to develop his pitch recognition skills would allow him to cut down on some chase that will show up at times, as well as help improve his ability to take a walk. On the defensive side, Gray profiles well at the hot corner. He is a sure-handed defender with a near plus arm across the diamond.

Murf Gray swinging a great barrel through the zone, extends well through this one and gets it thru the gap to CF for a single @WarehamGatemen @FresnoStateBSB #PGCape pic.twitter.com/bH088GBLPH
— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) July 5, 2024

“The Buzz”

Gray put together a strong freshman campaign in ‘23, posting a .833 OPS with 18 extra-base hits. He followed it up with an even better sophomore season, slugging .504 and going deep 10 times. While his spring numbers have been impressive, the Fresno State slugger really jumped on draft boards during his time in the Cape last summer. Gray was arguably the best hitter out there, posting a .329/.367/.500 slash line with five home runs and 14 extra-base hits in just 35 games. The track recorded and standout summer performance will warrant plenty of attention this spring.

Summation

Gray has a chance to be the first Fresno State bat to be selected on day one in a decade. While he does not profile as an up the middle player, his skill set fits well at third base and he should be able to make a loud impact with the stick. Since stepping on campus, Gray has continued to show improvement and his performance has only gotten better. Another strong spring campaign should result in a Top-50 selection next summer.

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