Murf Gray didn’t spend long in one place during his first pro season, and the Pirates had a good reason for that. They knew the bat was ready for more than Single-A Bradenton, so they started him at the bottom in 2026 and let him climb.
By the end of six months, he had ripped through three levels and landed in Double-A Altoona, finishing his first professional year at just 22 years old. The production was loud: a .305 average, a .969 OPS and 32 home runs across those three stops. That surge also pushed Gray onto MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list at No. 91 overall and No. 4 in the Pirates’ system.
Pirates director of coaching and player development Michael Chernow said the biggest change wasn’t just the numbers.
“It's gotten better from who he was in April to who he's finishing up as in September,” Chernow told MLB.com. “He's a better player in September than he was in April, and that's because of the work that he put in, because of the aptitude that he has to understand the game feedback and what's important.”
Gray said the pace of his rise caught him off guard, too.
“Honestly, it surprised me a lot. The first year of pro ball, I went in with an open mind, just being ready to learn and grow as a player,” Gray told MLB.com in the Altoona Curve home dugout. “But along with that, just being a sponge, learning new things, picking up on habits from different guys and just being able to talk about approach, ground ball work, footwork, like every little detail that goes into a long season.”
The Pirates drafted Gray out of Fresno State in Competitive Balance Round B of the 2025 MLB Draft, and they already had a clear read on the hit tool he brought with him. After the selection, he didn’t appear in affiliated ball that year while he added to his frame.
Chernow said the growth has gone well beyond the eye-catching stat line. Gray has kept stacking small gains at the plate and at third base, and that steady work has fueled the bigger jump.
Gray said he first realized in his freshman year of college that he could make a living in baseball. Then, in 2024 with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, he sharpened the mental side of his game under hitting coach Mike Mobbs, who pushed him toward stubbornness and consistency.
“No TOB was a big thing, which is transfer of blame,” Gray said. “So if I get out, make an error, do something wrong, I'm not going to blame that on the game.
I'm not going to blame that on anybody else. I'm going to take full accountability for myself, figure it out and move on and learn.”
That accountability showed up in one area the Pirates wanted to clean up: his chase rate. Chernow said the staff emphasized the “value of a walk” and worked patience into Gray’s approach so he could do more damage in other ways.
The adjustment paid off as Gray moved from High-A Greensboro to Double-A, where his walk rate climbed even as his batting average dipped. The pitches were better, the locations were tighter, and the challenge was real. Still, Gray has tried to stay true to his identity as a hitter first, with the power coming behind it.
“The biggest transition is thinking ahead and playing a chess game,” Gray said. “Making sure that approach carries throughout not only your first at-bat but throughout all your at-bats, throughout the game, and the rest of the season.”
Chernow said the encouraging part is that Gray has not lost the quality of contact that made him such an appealing prospect in the first place.
“You're seeing positive trends with swing decisions, and the most encouraging thing is that there's been no trade-off in contact quality as a result,” Chernow said. “He's still getting a swing off; he's still able to do damage, and that's certainly his calling card: his ability to change the game in one swing.”
Gray came into pro ball as a Gold Glove finalist in college, though his 6-foot-3, 230-pound build leaves open the possibility of a move to first base down the road. For now, he has stayed at third base, and Chernow said the organization believes he can keep doing it at the Major League level. The offseason focus is simple: improve his horizontal range.
“It's just going to be about making sure that that right-left range is in a good spot," Chernow said. "And when he continues to prove that it is, I don't see any reason why he can't play third base.”
The Pirates have shown with recent top picks like Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin that they’re willing to move players quickly when they’re ready. Gray’s 2026 season put him in that conversation, and he’ll be ready for the next step when it comes.
In Other News...
Pirates Fans Have A Prospect Worth Watching In Arizona
The Arizona Fall League is about to open its 34th season on Oct. 3, and for Pirates fans it offers one more place to track a young player before the offseason really settles in. The league has long been a proving ground for prospects who are close to the big leagues, and this year's group includes plenty of names worth monitoring around the game, from Eduardo Quintero to Zyhir Hope and Caleb Bonemer.
For Pittsburgh, the real draw is the chance to keep tabs on an under-the-radar talent with a chance to make some noise in the desert. The AFL often gives players a final stage to build momentum after a strong year, and the Pirates' interest is obvious anytime one of their prospects gets a shot in a league known for turning promise into a faster path to the majors. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Already Moving On From A Deadline Bullpen Addition
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Instead, the move points straight toward the offseason and the bigger rebuild of the bullpen that still awaits. Dovals time with the Pirates ended after he logged a 3.79 ERA over 19 innings, and Pittsburgh is already signaling that it plans to keep searching for more reliable late-inning answers as it looks ahead to next year. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Final Cardinals Series Puts Pressure On Two Familiar Arms
The Pirates close out their final home series against the Cardinals with a rotation setup that should feel familiar by now, even if the faces keep shifting. Jared Jones gets the opener after a strong September stretch, an unannounced starter handles the middle game, and Paul Skenes is lined up for the finale, giving Pittsburgh another look at two young arms it has leaned on heavily while trying to piece together the back end of the season.
For Jones, the timing offers another chance to keep building on recent form in a setting where the Pirates have little left to play for except evaluation and momentum. Skenes, meanwhile, remains the more complicated storyline, since the talent has been obvious all year but the consistency has not, with mechanical issues still part of the conversation as the club tries to manage his workload and development. The bullpen picture also gets a little more interesting with rookie pitchers Khristian Curtis, Wilber Dotel and Antwone Kelly expected to work in relief during the series. [Read more 🡒]