Chris Ray Stats & Scouting Report

IP	281
ERA	4.1
WHIP	1.359
BB/9	3.94
SO/9	7.367

Full name Christopher Thomas Ray
Born 01/12/1982 in Tampa, FL
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School William & Mary
Debut 06/14/2005
Drafted in the 3rd round (74th overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in 2003 (signed for $485,000).

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Ray had a solid Cape Cod League season in 2002, going 2-1, 1.93 with 10 saves and 38 strikeouts in 28 innings. Off that performance and a strong sophomore year at William & Mary, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Ray looked like a potential first-round pick. He was inconsistent as a junior while moving from the bullpen to the rotation, and his stock plummeted as much as anyone in the draft. A starting role was supposed to give Ray the best chance to develop his arsenal but it didn't work out. He struggled to find a pitch to complement his 90-94 mph fastball. Scouts say Ray's splitter is his best pitch, but he didn't use it much and settled for a shaky slider and improving changeup. Even his fastball, which was clocked at 98 mph last fall, lost velocity. He got hit hard as the pitch has little movement and there's not a lot of deception in his delivery. He had trouble repeating his delivery as his body moved too quickly at times, throwing his mechanics out of whack. Ray's feel improved as the season moved along, and he gained more confidence as he switched to a two-seam fastball to get more movement from his high three-quarters arm slot. But it may have been too little, too late.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

A starter in his first season and a half as a pro, Ray moved to the bullpen in 2005--the role that always seemed to be his destiny--and rocketed to the big leagues. He dominated in Double-A before making his debut in June and holding his own in middle relief. Ray has the stuff and attitude to be a closer. His heavy fastball sits in the mid-90s and touches 96-97 with good movement. He complements it with a hard slider, and he has a plus splitter that he occasionally throws as well. He likes the ball at the end of the game and goes after hitters. Most of Ray's weaknesses were eliminated when he moved to the bullpen and no longer needed a changeup. He needs to refine his command, and he can't throw the splitter more often because it puts too much torque on his elbow. In Double-A at the outset of 2005, Ray could enter spring training as the Orioles' top closer candidate after they declined to match Toronto's huge contract offer to B.J. Ryan. Ray probably will compete with LaTroy Hawkins, with the loser setting up the winner.
Ray starred as a closer in the Cape Cod League in 2002 before moving to the rotation at William & Mary and struggling in 2003. He still went in the third round and has shown more success in that role as a pro, though he'll probably go back to the bullpen eventually. Ray's fastball sits at 93-95 mph, peaks at 97 and has heavy life. He has enough power to get hitters out with heat up in the zone. He complements his fastball with a hard slider and a good splitter, allowing him to work all four quadrants of the strike zone. Ray has a maximum-effort delivery and hasn't developed his changeup much, so he probably faces an eventual return to the bullpen. He throw strikes but needs better command within the zone because he gets hit more than he should with his stuff. One scout compared Ray to Goose Gossage both in his build and the life on his high fastball. He has not only the arsenal but also the mentality to close out games. When he moves to that role will be up to the next farm director.
Ray was a potential first-round pick for the 2003 draft after putting up a 1.93 ERA with 10 saves in the Cape Cod League the previous summer. He moved into the William & Mary rotation last spring to more fully develop his assortment of pitches, but he struggled with the adjustment and fell to the third round. That still made him the highest draftee in school history. He pitched in the short-season Aberdeen rotation and showed the great fastball that is his calling card. He throws it at 93-95 mph, and it was clocked as high as 98 in college. He also has a hard slider with late bite. His splitter is effective, but Baltimore isn't sure he should use it extensively, and his changeup needs work. Ray has a loose arm but is inconsistent with his mechanics, sometimes rushing his lower half or showing effort in his delivery. Ray was able to dominate in the New York-Penn League by blowing people away, and he'll move up to one of the Orioles' Class A stops to see if he can do the same to more advanced hitters. He'll remain a starter for now but could become a power reliever.

Minor League Top Prospects

Ray's fastball is his calling card, sitting at 93-95 mph, and it was clocked as high as 97 in the South Atlantic League prior to his promotion to Frederick. Primarily a closer in college, the Orioles moved him into the rotation to more fully develop his repertoire. Making the jump to the Carolina League in his first full pro season wasn't a difficult adjustment for Ray, who went 2-3, 3.42 in 10 games at Delmarva before being promoted. In addition to the fastball, Ray also throws a hard slider at 85-87 mph with late bite. His splitter was average this year and he needs to gain more confidence in his changeup. His fastball also tends to be straight, making it hittable at times despite its velocity. Some scouts think a move back to the bullpen is in his future because he has some effort in his delivery as well. "He changes speeds well and keeps you honest with the slider," a CL manager said. "But in my opinion, he didn't use his secondary stuff like he could have. He showed flashes of it, but a lot of times it was just fastball-slider."
Ray became the highest draftee in William & Mary history when the Orioles took him in the third round. He struggled moving from the bullpen to the rotation during the spring, but rebounded in his pro debut and displayed one of the best arms in the league. Ray has a 93-95 mph fastball with plus life and backed it up with a 77-79 mph slider that had late bite. Many scouts said his best pitch was his splitter, which he threw at 79-80 mph with tumbling and sinking action. He has a loose, live arm, but sometimes runs into trouble when he rushes his lower half in his delivery.