DRB Prospect Review: #28 Tanner Murray
The 25-year old infielder was named the Rays Defensive Player of the Year
Over the offseason, the Draybay community takes part in an exercise in which we compile a list of 30 prospects in the Rays system based on popular vote.
Now that the 2024 season has concluded, we can look back at these rankings and see how each individual player performed.
We have already covered
We resume the reviews at #28.
28. Tanner Murray, INF
The Rays selected Tanner Murray in the 4th round of the 2020 draft. Murray is an athletic infielder capable of playing most any position compentently. Some scouts believe his hit tool could develop to be well above average to go with some fringe power. He’ll never be one to walk a lot, but he has kept his strikeout numbers under control with an aggressive approach at the plate.
Before the Season
24-25 | BT: R/R | 6’ 2” | 190
AA | .256/.345/.438 (.783 OPS, 110 wRC+) 200 PA, 5 HR, 0 SB
In 2022, Murray got a handful of games in the AFL after a strong showing at Class-A (151 wRC+) and an average showing in A+ (100 wRC+), but it’s not clear that the Rays knew what to do with the 2020 4th rounder out of UC Davis. To start 2023 he bounced between A+ and Triple-A, perhaps to meet a roster need, but was injured just 9 games into his season on a play at second base. He returned mid-July and the Rays sent him to Double-A, where he worked a utility-style infield rotation but mostly settled in at second base. He’s got sure hands and good plate discipline, but his swing was under construction in 2023.
How it Went
Murray spent the entire 2024 campaign in Double-A Montgomery and enjoyed his first non-injury hampered season in the Rays organization. For most of the year, Murray was an average hitter, entering play on July 31st with a 102 wRC+. However, over his final 32 games, Murray hit .339/.376/.540 with a 168 wRC+ over 133 plate appearances. Meanwhile Murray shined defensively with the Rays naming him their Defensive Player of the Year in the minor leagues, no small feat in a system that includes Carson Williams and Tre’ Morgan.
Murray will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December.
Final 2024 Statline
AA: .290/.328/.424 | 7 HR | 4 SB | 16.3 K% | 4.7 BB% | 122 wRC+ | 448 PA