One of the coolest moments of Iowa native Taitn Gray’s baseball career came at the end of the 2024 summer. Gray, playing in a showcase game at Kauffman Stadium (home of the Kansas City Royals), nearly belted a home run, hitting one deep off the right-center-field fence.
“If nothing else, I get to tell my kids that I hit one almost out of Kauffman,” Gray said. “But hopefully there’s more stories to tell.”
Gray is on his way to having more memorable experiences after the Tampa Bay Rays selected the Dallas Center-Grimes star in the third round of the Major League Baseball Draft on July 13. Gray was the 86th overall pick.
"It's one of those things where you look at the end goals and this is just a step in the right direction," Gray said. "So, it's obviously awesome. But there's bigger goals that I want to achieve."
Bigger and better things could be in store for him. Gray, a switch-hitting catcher/outfielder, boasts a powerful bat and a ton of athleticism that captured the attention of college coaches and MLB scouts the last few seasons. After originally committing to Notre Dame, Gray re-opened his recruitment and decided to play at Oregon.
He became one of the prized pieces of the Ducks' incoming recruiting class thanks to a powerful bat that produced a .538 batting average, 13 doubles and 14 homers in 39 games as a junior.
Professional teams also took notice. Gray entered the two-day draft ranked as the 92nd-best player available in the event. He rapidly improved his draft stock with his strong exit-velocity numbers at the MLB Draft Combine this year. Gray's batting-practice sessions at Dallas Center-Grimes became must-see events, with scouts flocking to the high school team's field to see him.
Gray put together a monster senior season, hitting .479 with 12 homers in 27 games for Dallas Center-Grimes this season. The highlight of the year, though, came when the Rays selected him. Gray said he knew the team would come calling when he heard from his advisor in the evening.
The assigned slot value of the pick is $920, 080. Gray said whatever team drafted him had to offer him a certain amount of money to lure him away from attending Oregon. The Rays were able to meet that unclosed number. So, Gray will be forgoing college and will instead begin his professional career.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Gray said. “I don’t even think I can describe it right now. It’s still kind of setting in.”
Getting drafted was great. But reaching the big leagues is the ultimate goal for the young power hitter.
"It's obviously a great accomplishment but I kind of want to get back to work and achieve those other goals that I had in mind for just as long a time," Gray said.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-284-8468.