Byron Murray, OF. DOB: 7/26/1995. B-R, T-R. 5'10", 195 lbs.
2014 Rookie AZL: .279/.347/.412, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8.0 BB%, 20.0 K%, 75 PA.
One of my favorite picks from the 2014 draft, Byron Murray came to the Giants in round 25 out of HS in Florida. He is a young power hitter with a compact build and tremendous upper body strength. Here are some excerpts from his Perfect Game scouting report from a 2012 showcase event: "Thick chested, extra strong build." "Good strength in swing, stays short and hits with his hands. Ball comes off the barrel well." "Good OF actions, runs well, strong on line throws. Very accurate in games and threw runners out."
Looking at video of him swinging the bat, he has a fairly simple swing, but the thing that stands out is the wrist snap that explodes the barrel through the strike zone with tremendous bat head speed. Very similar swing to what I described for Brian Ragira a few posts ago, and I LOVE Ragira's swing! Physically, Murray reminds me of a young Kevin Mitchell with the big barrel chest.
You may ask why Murray was still around in the 25'th round? Probably because he has very limited physical projection and because he profiles as a corner player from the get go. PG listed him as a good student, so teams may have also thought that once he fell past a certain point, he was going to college.
Right now, he is a lottery ticket, but one I think may well pay off very well down the road.
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Thanks for this post. He's an intriguing prospect...Eric Davis/Hank Aaron wrist action (if I recall correctly the Ragira comps) and Kevin Mitchell upper body.
ReplyDeleteGive us more!
My favorite kind of prospect, the late round hs draftee. For every 10 gus benusa there's an isihkawa. That small sample size start is encouraging.
ReplyDeleteAugusta would be nice, but even a bump to salem has him on a good track.
Moncada's free to sign! Now where does that leave the Giants?
ReplyDeleteProbably on the sidelines. Based on the financial dynamics and Larry Baer's recent comments, I do not expect the Giants to sign Moncada.
DeleteGreat...feels like its been a while since the Giants made a "splash." Anyone but the Dodgers please....
ReplyDeleteI'll guess that the Yankees and BoSox duke it out for Moncada with the D'Backs and Chisox as possibilities.
DeleteFor some reason, it just does not feel like an Andrew Friedman move.
Murray's swing reminds me somewhat of the draft prospect you mentioned the other day DrB, Alonzo Jones. It's not quite as pretty and polished as Jones, who is a top of the draft talent to most evaluators, but Murray still packs a TON of punch into that swing. I too think he's a very interesting prospect, and one that nobody will talk about unless he has a major breakout season. That's the fun in this prospecting business though, looking for the next underrated jewel.
ReplyDeleteI also like that Murray jumped right into the AZL and hit a little bit. Of course Chuckie Jones did too (not that Chuckie is some terrible prospect), but it's still impressive to see an 18 year-old kid have some immediate success at the professional level. He'll probably play in the AZL again, but it would be awesome if he at least had a chance to play in Salem-Keizer this summer. A nice sleeper to follow for sure.
The Kid is definitely a stud. Just watch him.
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