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Peyton Gray has one of the better backstories in baseball. A 31-year-old right-hander who made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in April, Gray not only entered pro ball in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Gulf Coast University, his résumé includes three seasons with the independent Atlantic Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen, as well as four stints in winter ball. Moreover, he’s undergone Tommy John surgery and been granted his release by the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Cincinnati Reds.
His 2026 numbers are impressive. The Columbus, Indiana native began the year by tossing 12 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock, and since reaching The Show, he has come out of the bullpen 18 times and recorded a 3.70 ERA and a 3.71 FIP over 24 1/3 frames. Each of his two decisions have gone in the win column.
Gray’s top offering is an 83-mph changeup, which he has been throwing at a 44.0% clip to the tune of a .220 batting average allowed and a 31.0% whiff rate. I asked him about it when the Rangers visited Fenway Park earlier this month.
“It’s usually my go-to pitch,” said the righty, whose repertoire also includes a 92.4-mph four-seam fastball (38.8% usage) and a slider (17.3%). “I’ve thrown it since college, although I have tinkered with the grip a little bit, mostly how I use the seams. I’ve always held it for that splitter action with my middle fingers, and it’s kind of what you would call a Vulcan changeup. Over the last couple of years, it has taken off and become my best, and most consistent, pitch.
“Metrically, I think it averages out to a 3-17 ball,” Gray added, referring to three inches of vertical movement and 17 inches of horizontal movement. “There are days when it’s better and is more like a zero-and-20 ball, really taking off and not carrying vert. Obviously, humidity and stuff like that plays a role. It kind of depends on the feel. But the movement, as well as the velo difference from my fastball, makes it effective.”
In terms of overall effectiveness, Gray’s 2020 season stands out as his best. Limited to just a handful of lower-level appearances in 2019 due to a shoulder issue, he was subsequently let go by the Rockies during the following spring training. He then signed with the Milkmen, with whom he tossed 32 scoreless innings, allowing just 10 hits, issuing 14 free passes, and fanning 56 batters.
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The indie ball success led to a minor league deal with the Royal, but then came Tommy John surgery in 2021, which was followed by KC releasing him in July 2022 once he was “cleared from rehab.” Gray subsequently rejoined the Milkmen for the remainder of the campaign, stayed there through 2023, then was picked up by the Reds, only to have a lat strain cost him the 2024 season. In January 2025, following a return to health and a good showing in the Mexican Winter League, he was signed by the Rangers.
Back to his signature pitch:
“I bury it super deep,” Gray said of his split-change, which spins at 1,800 rpm. “I pronate a little bit, but it’s more that I kind of sweep across the ball, letting the inside of my middle finger turn it to get that sidespin and generate the horizontal. I’m sweeping it at release. It’s not one of those changeups where… some guys feel like they’re reaching out with it, and it’s not like that by any means. It’s more that as soon as my upper half starts rotating, I’m sweeping across toward the left-hander’s batter’s box.”
As for his finally reaching the majors in his ninth professional season, Gray credited not only his resilience, but also a better understanding of how to weaponize his arsenal. The addition of a cutter to augment his ride-run heater and plus changeup is a big part of that. As he put it, “On the graph, making that triangle of pitches and having just enough separation so that they play well together.”
And again, it’s quite the backstory. What is it like for a multi-season member of the Milwaukee Milkmen to be at Fenway Park, wearing a big league uniform?
“It’s incredible,” Gray told me. “Two or three years ago, I didn’t know how long I would still be playing baseball. When you’re in independent ball, you just don’t know. To be here now, on the biggest stage, being in a historic ballpark like this, is amazing. It really is.”