The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN minor league baseball standout Byron Murray is healthy this year and is off to a productive start to the Class A Short Season.

Murray, in his second stint with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in the San Francisco Giants organisation, has been a force at the plate early on.

Through five games, the 21-year-old third baseman is hitting .333 with three RBI, one home run and a .935 OPS.

He opened his season on June 15 with a double in the first of a four-game series against the Tri-City Dust Devils.

In game two, Murray hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to lead the Volcanoes to an 8-6 win over the Devils.

The home run by Murray gave the Volcanoes a 7-5 lead and capped a four-run inning for Salem-Keizer.

He went 1-4 in each of the two following games to close out the series against the Dust Devils.

The Volcanoes went on to drop the opening game of a four-game road trip with a 7-6 loss to the Hillsboro Hops in a mammoth four-hour nine-minute game.

Murray continued his production and finished 2-5 with one RBI on a single to left field giving Salem-Keizer a commanding six-run lead in the fourth inning.

Murray, was selected by the Giants in the 2014 draft in the 25th round with the 748th pick.

A versatile right-handed power hitter at 5'10" 195 pounds, he was drafted as an outfielder but has spent this season thus far at third base.

As a rookie in August 2014, he was assigned to the Arizona League Giants and in 19 games, he hit .279 with 12 RBI, five doubles, two triples and a .758 OPS.

The following September, he was assigned to the Volcanoes for the first time and spent six games with the club.

Hos combined totals in 2015 across the Northwest League and Rookie League (53 games total) included an average .251 with 28 RBI, three home runs, nine stolen bases and a .723 OPS.

He was called up to Class A Advanced with the San Jose Giants, but his 2016 season was cut short due to injury and he was sent back to the AZL on a rehab assignment, where he appeared in just four games.

Out of Trinity Christian in Lake Worth, Florida, Murray was a 2014 Florida All-Region and was an Underclass High Honourable Mention in both 2013 and 2012.