Syracuse, N.Y. – Le Moyne College junior pitcher
Josiah Gray (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) has been selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 72nd overall pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, as announced by former MLB slugger Adam Dunn and the organization on Monday night. The Reds took Gray with the fourth pick of the Competitive Balance Round B, which follows the second round.
Gray, who entered the draft ranked 101st by Baseball America and 102nd by MLB.com, will now have until 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, July 6 to sign with the Reds or return to the Dolphins for his final season. Should he sign with the Reds, he likely would be assigned to one of Cincinnati's three rookie-level teams, the Greeneville (Tennessee) Reds of the Appalachian League, the Billings (Montana) Mustangs of the Pioneer League and the AZL Reds (Goodyear, Arizona) of the Arizona League.
Gray is the second-highest drafted Dolphin in the program's history and the highest since Jon Ratliff was selected 24th overall by the Chicago Cubs in 1993. Overall, he is the 35th Dolphin to be selected in the first-year player draft and the first since 2010 (Mike Anarumo and Chris Edmondson), while he is the first right-handed pitcher to be selected since Eric Beaulac (Mets) in 2008. He is the third Dolphin to be selected by the Reds, joining left-handed pitcher Tom
Browning in 1982 (9th round, 233rd overall) and right-handed pitcher Tim Mirabito in 1984 (25th round, 624th overall).
Gray has collected numerous national and regional honors for his performance on the mound this season. Last week, he was named the D2CCA and NCBWA National Pitcher of the Year and to each association's All-America First Team, while also being tabbed to the ABCA All-America First Team. His national Pitcher of the Year awards are the first by a Dolphin. He is also the first Dolphin pitcher to earn All-America First Team honors and is just the second Dolphin overall to be tabbed to the ABCA All-America First Team (catcher Michael Fennell '82 in 1982). Additionally, Gray is the first Dolphin to be recognized by the ABCA since Eric Beaulac '09 (second team) and Chris Edmondson '10 (third team) in 2008. The Northeast-10 Conference co-Pitcher of the Year and a NE10 All-Conference First Team selection four weeks ago, Gray earns his second straight NCBWA All-America recognition after being an honorable mention selection last year. During the third week of May, he was named the ABCA, D2CCA and NCBWA East Region Pitcher of the Year and to each association's East Region First Team.
In 13 starts this season, Gray went 11-0 with a 1.25 earned run average and 105 strikeouts over 93 and one-third innings, while posting three complete games, one shutout and combining on two other shutouts. In six of his 13 starts, he did not allow an earned run, while he had four scoreless starts. He registered at least eight strikeouts in eight of his starts, including three games with at least 10 punchouts. In the first round of the NE10 Championship on May 8, he struck out a career-high 13 batters, the most by a Dolphin since
Damian Powers '17 also had 13 on April 29, 2016. He is just the third Dolphin to win 11 games in a season and the first since Joseph Abone '79 (13-3) and Tom Fletcher '79 (12-2) both did so in 1979. His 105 strikeouts are tied with Powers for the second-most in a season in the program's history, while his ERA is the fourth-best by a Dolphin in a season and is the best by a starting pitcher. Gray is one of just three starting pitchers in Division II to have at least 10 wins and zero losses and is the only pitcher with 11 wins and zero losses as a starter. He finished the season ranked third nationally in ERA (best among pitchers with 65+ innings), tied for sixth in wins and seventh in WHIP (0.89). His 105 strikeouts are the second-most in the Northeast-10 and the third-most in the East Region.
For his career, Gray is 12-2 with a 1.70 earned run average, 10 saves and 136 strikeouts over 116.1 innings over 34 appearances, including the 13 starts this season. His ERA is the second-best in the program's history, his 10.52 strikeouts per nine innings is the best mark, his opponent batting average (.207) is the fourth-best and his 10 saves are tied for the fifth-most. He is the only player in the program's history to record 10 saves in one season and 10 victories in another season.
LE MOYNE COLLEGE BASEBALL DRAFT HISTORY
2018
Josiah Gray, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (Competitive Balance Round B, 72nd overall)
2010
Mike Anarumo, LHP, Oakland Athletics (21st round, 635 overall)
Chris Edmondson, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (43rd round, 1309th overall)
2008
Eric Beaulac, RHP, New York Mets (9th round, 284th overall)
2007
Bobby Blevins, RHP, L.A. Dodgers (13th round, 416th overall)
Andy Parrino, INF, San Diego Padres (26th round, 807th overall)
2006
Mike Affronti, SS, Oakland Athletics (17th round, 518th overall)
2005
Andre Enriquez, RHP, Washington Nationals (13th round, 384th overall)
Aaron Bulkley, CF, Houston Astros (16th round, 494th overall)
2004
Matt Scherer, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (16th round, 480th overall)
Kyle Brown, OF, New York Mets (18th round, 524th overall)
2003
Brian Mattoon, RHP, Texas Rangers (14th round, 406th overall)
Andy Weimer, RHP, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (15th round, 428th overall)
2002
Christopher Barlow, RHP, Montreal Expos (9th round, 257th overall)
2001
Jaime Steward, LHP, Anaheim Angels (39th round, 1169th overall)
1996
Tom Stepka, RHP, Colorado Rockies (10th round, 296th overall)
1995
Dan Kurtz, RHP, Seattle Mariners (12th round, 314th overall)
1993
Jon Ratliff, RHP, Chicago Cubs (1st round, 24th overall)
Dave Smith, SS, Boston Red Sox (14th round, 387th overall)
Chuck Kulle, OF, Cleveland Indians (25th round, 699th overall)
Dickie Woodridge, 2B, San Diego Padres (31st round, 870th overall)
1992
Al Hammell, C, New York Mets (28th round, 777th overall)
1989
Randy Marshall, OF/1B, Texas Rangers (9th round, 221st overall)
Kevin Keon, RHP, Texas Rangers (18th round, 455th overall)
Matt Stevens, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (29th round, 740th overall)
1988
Mike Farrell, RHP, Montreal Expos (24th round, 622nd overall)
Pete Hoy, RHP, Boston Red Sox (33rd round, 849th overall)
1987
Rich Berg, RHP, Oakland Athletics (12th round, 302nd overall)
1984
Tim Mirabito, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (25th round, 624th overall)
Matt Harrison, LHP, New York Yankees (9th round, 232nd overall)
1982
Tom Browning, LHP, Cincinnati Reds (9th round, 233rd overall)
Mike Fennell, OF, New York Yankees (11th round, 284th overall)
Jim Deshaies, LHP, New York Yankees (21st round, 541st overall)
1979
Joe Abone, RHP, Montreal Expos (11th round, 270th overall)
1976
Jim Wessinger, 2B, Atlanta Braves (6th round, 123rd overall)
