2025 MLB Draft: Rays select high school C Taitn Gray at No. 86 overall in third round

$920.8k slot value.

The Tampa Bay Rays selected high school catcher Taitn Gray at No. 87 overall in the third round, their final pick of Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Baseball America ranked Gray at No. 83 overall who note he is, “An Oregon commit [...] young for the class and will be 17 on draft day.” He previously had committed to Notre Dame in 2023.

MLB Pipeline:

Former All-Star reliever Tony Watson is the only player ever drafted out of Dallas Center Grimes (Iowa) HS (but didn’t sign before attending the University of Nebraska), though Gray should join him in July. He offers some of the best high school power in the 2025 class, as well as a tantalizing combination of physicality and athleticism — and the possibility of catching.

A club that believes he can stay behind the plate could pop him as early as the second round, something that hasn’t happened to an Iowa prep hitter since Kellen Sweeney in 2010. A switch-hitter, Gray has a smoother swing as a lefty but crushes balls from both sides. He led Iowa’s summer high school league with 14 homers as a junior and produced the highest exit velocity (109 mph) and best maximum (87 mph) and average (83 mph) bat speeds at the Super 60 Showcase in February.

While he wasn’t a showcase circuit regular and hasn’t faced a lot of top competition, he displays some feel to hit and scouts believe he’s more than just a masher at the plate. Gray has surprising speed for a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, clocking plus times in the 60-yard dash and playing as an average runner. The Oregon recruit is raw as a receiver and has average arm strength, though he needs to clean up his footwork and release. If he can’t hack it as a catcher, he has the power and athleticism to profile on an outfield corner.

Baseball America:

BA Grade: 50/Extreme

An Iowa native, Gray is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound switch-hitting catcher with a physical, linebacker-esque build and an impressive track record of impact in the months leading up to the draft. Gray’s 109 mph exit velocity at PBR’s Super 60 Showcase in February topped the event. He won Iowa’s Gatorade player of the year award in the spring, then went to the MLB Draft combine and produced the third-best max exit velocity (114.5 mph) of any hitter—high school or college—to take batting practice at the event.

Gray has plus raw power and enough hitting ability to access it in games. His swing features some moving parts, including a moderate leg kick and a slight hand hitch, but he’s an explosive rotator with tons of bat speed. He’s typically more synced up and fluid from the left side compared to the right. Gray has a chance to be an average defender with more work behind the dish. He’s got an average arm and might be able to profile in an outfield corner if he has to move, with some run times early in the 2025 season better than expected given his size—though he should settle in as a below-average runner in the future. An Oregon commit, Gray is young for the class and will be 17 on draft day.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run:40 | Field: 45 | Arm: 50.

This farmboy is strong.