By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

Taitn Gray drafted

Dallas Center-Grimes had its star player, Taitn Gray, drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the third round of the 2025 MLB draft. The Mustangs fell in the final round of substate to Council Bluffs Lewis Central, 3-1, but I have a feeling Gray and DCG are still feeling quite good about seeing the young talent get closer to one of the best individual accomplishments — making it to the pros.

The catcher was committed to play college ball at Oregon, but KCCI reported that his family said he will sign the professional contract and bypass college baseball. MLB.com has the value of his pick listed at $920,000.

Gray had an excellent season at DCG, although, surprisingly, he did not lead his team in hits. His 34 were actually third-highest on the team, behind two teammates who both had 40. Gray was fourth on the team in doubles, with seven, and tied for first on the team in triples, with three. Where Gray, and other potential future big leaguers separate themselves, are the homers and the walks. Gray led his team in homeruns by far with 12. The next closest teammate had five. As for walks, Gray took his base 31 times last season, 12 more than the next closest teammate. His batting averages also stand out with a .479 average, .636 on-base percentage, 1.169 slugging percentage and a 1.805 on-base plus slugging. As Brad Pitt famously said in the movie “Moneyball,” he gets on base.

Stat leaders across Iowa

Looking at Gray’s numbers got me thinking about who the stat leaders are in the state of Iowa with the state tournament right around the corner. Here are some I found interesting:

Batting average: Garrett Luett, junior at Underwood, .619

Home runs: Kamden Jorgensen, junior at Sayden, 14

RBIs: Jax Theeler, senior at Sioux City East, 58

Stolen bases: Gabe Funk, senior at Lenox, 56

ERA: Gavin Spaur, junior at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 0.00

(I took some liberties with choosing Spaur to represent this category. In total, there were six pitchers who posted a 0.00 ERA, but Spaur by far had the most innings pitched at 52.2.)

Wins: TIE. Jordan Cota, senior at Kee; Lance Ludens, senior at Mediapolis, 11

Saves: Deacon Kucera, junior at Cedar Rapids Kennedy, eight.

Strikeouts: Garrett Luett, junior at Underwood, 122

Did you notice the same thing I did? A junior at Underwood, Garrett Luett, led the state in batting average AND strikeouts? That almost seems too good to be true. Luett also led the state in on-base percentage (.743) and slugging percentage (1.190). He did all of that and struck out only one time all season. Those are video game numbers for a junior in high school. I think I have a guess as to who might get drafted next in a years’ time.

Reach out with any comments, concerns, complaints or story ideas to cyote@dmcityview.com