The Major League Baseball Draft kicked off on Sunday with the Washington Nationals’ pick of Fort Cobb-Broxton (Oklahoma) high school shortstop Eli Willits at Number One. The Tampa Bay Rays made their first pick at Number 14, drafting Mill Creek High School (Georgia) shortstop Daniel Pierce. One of the Rays’ more intriguing picks, though, came in the third round, when the team took Dallas-Center Grimes High School (Iowa) catcher Taitn Gray with the 86th overall pick.
At 6’4″ and 220 pounds, Gray offers a mix of power and athleticism that Tampa Bay could not pass up, especially at the catcher position. While the 17-year-old’s catching skills are still developing, he has the speed to transition to the outfield if things don’t work out behind the plate. Scouts were impressed by his plus speed in the 60-yard dash, but make no mistake, they didn’t show up to watch him run.
Gray’s calling card is his power at the plate. He led Iowa high school hitters with 14 home runs as a junior at DCG while hitting .538. At the Super 60 Showcase that year, Gray’s bat speed (83 mph average, 87 mph maximum) and exit velocity (maxed at 109 mph) topped everyone. He followed that up with another big season as a senior, hitting .479 with seven doubles, three triples, 12 homers, 38 RBIs, 39 runs, 31 walks, and 10 stolen bases in 27 games. Gray was named the Gatorade Iowa High School Baseball Player of the Year in 2025.
That isn’t all that Tampa Bay saw in Gray. He is a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate, who has a good eye and above-average bat-to-ball skills for a slugger. The Rays should give Gray every chance to hone his footwork, framing, and signal-calling behind the plate.
Tampa Bay has had very few plus-hitting catchers over the years. This year’s catchers (Danny Jansen, Ben Rortvedt, and Matt Thaiss) have hit a combined .192 with 9 homeruns through 97 games. Mike Zunino smashed 33 home runs in 2021, but he struck out 132 times in 375 plate appearances and was a .199 career hitter. Throughout the team’s history, the Rays have never had a “franchise catcher” like Will Smith, Cal Raleigh, or Salvador Perez. In recent years, Tampa Bay’s lack of catching talent has often forced a “catcher by committee” consisting of discarded retreads.
The Rays thought they had their man in 2022, when they drafted Dominic Keegan out of Vanderbilt in the fourth round. Unfortunately, he has been plagued by injuries and has yet to ascend to the majors. So far this year, Keegan has only played in 33 games due to an elbow problem. He has shown promise, though, hitting .293 with 5 homers between Rookie League ball and Triple-A.
Their other top catching prospect is 18-year-old Nathan Flewelling, who they drafted last year out of Canada. Flewelling is hitting just .202 with two homers at Single-A Carolina. If Gray’s defense catches up to his offense, there may not be much to block his path to the big show.
Catchers who can hit at the major league level are hard to find, so when someone like Gray comes along, it’s easy to get excited. His combination of power, contact, bat speed, and knowledge of the strike zone is rare. Tampa Bay can only hope that Gray can maintain all those traits while developing his defensive skills. Gray looks like he could be that unicorn that the Rays have been chasing for years, but at 17, it will be a few years before we find out.
The good news is, even if his catching skills never quite get there, the Rays can always use another power bat in the outfield. Either way, Tampa Bay thinks that they found a diamond in the rough, and I would tend to agree with them. The Rays tend to use a lot of platoons, but Gray’s ability to hit from both sides of the plate with power makes him an everyday player. While not every slugger’s power translates from amateur games to the pros, traits like bat speed, contact rate, and a good eye usually do. I could easily see Gray as an everyday player for the Rays by the time he hits his 20th birthday.
Iowa Sports Fan? Check out these MLB Draft articles that feature Iowa Hawkeye pitcher Cade Obermueller and Des Moines native Sean Gamble.
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
