Sonny Gray
From BR Bullpen
Sonny Douglas Gray (Hace Sol)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
- School Vanderbilt University
- High School Smyrna High School
- Born November 7, 1989 in Smyrna, TN USA
Sonny Gray was a first-round pick in 2011.
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[edit] Biographical Information
[edit] High School
Gray was a two-sport star in high school. He hit .518 as a senior while fanning 78 in 35 innings and posting a 4-0, 0.79 record. He also was the quarterback in football, taking his team to two state titles. He played in the AFLAC All-American game. Baseball America ranked him as the #52 prospect entering the 2008 amateur draft. Due to a strong college commitment, he fell to the 27th round before the Chicago Cubs picked him. He did not sign.
[edit] College
Gray was 5-1 with 5 saves and a 4.30 ERA as a college freshman. He was with Team USA that summer, going 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA and .139 opponent average; the team did not play in any major international tournaments. In 2010, the sophomore improved to 10-5, 3.48 with 113 K in 108 2/3 innings, though he walked 48. He finished third in the Southeastern Conference in whiffs, tied for 22nd in NCAA Division I. He was again with Team USA, striking out 37 and walking 4 in 24 innings and went 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA. Baseball America named him their Summer Player of the year, the third Vanderbilt southpaw to take that honor in a five-year period, following David Price (2006) and Mike Minor (2008). In the big event, the 2010 World University Championship, he fanned 14 in a one-hit, no-walk, 69-pitch, five-inning complete game shutout of Sri Lanka (a mercy rule contest). In the semifinals, he limited Japan to two runs (one earned) in seven innings before Noe Ramirez wrapped up the win. He beat the heralded Yuki Saito in an event held in Tokyo. The USA wound up with the Silver Medal, losing to Cuba in the finale. Gray led Team USA in both wins and Ks (20) in the event. He tied Yadier Pedroso for the most wins in the Championship while leading in whiffs (two ahead of Miguel González). González beat him out for the award as the All-Star starting pitcher.
His junior year, Gray helped Vanderbilt make it to the 2011 College World Series. Entering the Series, he was 12-3 with a 1.97 ERA, 119 strikeouts and a .191 average allowed in 114 1/3 innings. He had walked 41. The Oakland A's took him with the 18th pick of the 2011 amateur draft; fellow Vanderbilt starter Grayson Garvin went later in the first round.
[edit] Pro Career
Gray signed with Oakland and made his pro debut with the AZL Athletics. He was then promoted to the AA Midland RockHounds, where he went 1-0 with an 0.45 ERA in 5 starts.
