D-backs Top 40 Prospects in 2024: No.15 Dylan Ray

The starting pitcher finished healthy, pitched in the Arizona Fall League, and set up for a big 2025 season

Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Dylan Ray throws a pitch for the Salt River Rafters against the Scottsdale Scorpions in Arizona Fall League action October 9, 2024 / MLBTW.net Hung-Cheng Li

This article is part of a series reviewing the seasons of the top 40 prospects still in the Arizona Diamondbacks system as of the end of 2024.

Dylan Ray, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher, DOB: 05/09/2001, 6'3, 230

Acquired: 4th Round Pick of 2022 MLB Draft, 108th Overall

Dylan Ray was drafted with the 108th overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Alabama where he attended college with fellow D-backs prospect Grayson Hitt. He signed for a bonus of $565,800. It was an exact slot bonus as the D-backs took some risk on a pitcher that hadn't started but one summer in the Cape Cod League and pitched as a reliever for the prior two seasons.

After a strong 2023 season that saw Ray climb from High-A to Double-A, he was set up to start 2024 with Double-A. However, his elbow had other plans as he suffered a flexor strain in his right forearm. Having had Tommy John Surgery a few years prior, that was a major worry.

Luckily, he was able to recover by mid-season and avoid any surgery that often follows flexor tightness. He made his first start in the Arizona Complex League on June 6th.

After a brief but dominant start in the ACL, he went to Double-A to pitch with the Amarillo Sod Poodles as was expected.

There was some rust to be had for Ray and some building up the arm as he didn't pitch more than 3.2 innings in any of his first five starts. Over those 15.2 innings, he struggled to a 5.74 ERA.

After these five starts, Ray resumed pitching deeper into games and looked completely different once he was fully unleashed as it appeared to happen.

Despite being an extreme offensive league and ballpark, over his next 10 starts, Ray had a a 3.88 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 24 walks in 51 innings. He started locating his pitches in better spots and showed his potential as a future potential mid-rotation starter.

In eight of the starts, he pitched five or more innings while utilizing a cutter and curveball that looked the part of becoming MLB-viable pitches.

Over these 10 starts, opponents hit only .245 and had a .770 OPS against him, two numbers that were low for the high-powered Texas League.

Unfortunately, he was unable to maintain this momentum to end the season. In his final start of the year, four innings, he gave up 11 hits, nine runs, and three homers - a fifth of what he gave up all year.

Overall, he pitched 17 games, threw 73.1 innings and had a 5.89 ERA. He struck out 74 and walked 33. He had a 5.91 FIP over his 70.2 innings in Double-A with a much-lower xFIP of 4.26.

In 2024, he managed to lower his walk rate 1.6% to 10.3%, but did see his strikeout rate drop by 0.5% from his time in Double-A in 2023. Still, Ray did what he needed to do to maintain his good prospect status and show the potential he has.

To build up his innings and get him more work, the Diamondbacks decided to have Ray pitch in the Arizona Fall League this past October and early November.

Related Content : Q&A with D-backs Prospect Dylan Ray at Fall League

While he made five starts and pitched 13 innings, they did not go particularly well against other top prospects across MLB. He recorded a 7.62 ERA and gave up 18 hits and five walks. On the bright side, he had 18 strikeouts as his pitches induced plenty of swing and misses.

It was a good experience for Ray to face some top competition, build up his pitch count, and get some more innings in this year after missing so much time due to injury. Now, he'll have a healthy off-season and able to get ready for next year with his usual schedule.

2025 Outlook

Dylan Ray will come to Spring Training healthy and pushing for a spot on the Triple-A Reno Aces starting staff. It's unlikely that will happen come Opening Day so expect Ray to start the season in Double-A with the Amarillo Sod Poodles.

Should Ray perform well over the first couple of months with the Sod Poodles then it's quite likely the Arizona Diamondbacks will reward him with a promotion to Triple-A. If he does excellent there, there's an outside chance that Ray could make his MLB debut come next September.

2025 will a major year for Ray as it is his final year before becoming eligible for the Rule-5 Draft. That means that come next off-season, the D-backs will be faced with a tough decision over whether to add Ray to the 40-man roster or risk him being taken by another team in the draft.

Ray needs a big year and an excellent performance in order to convince Arizona to protect him and keep promoting him. 2025 will be the year that Ray needs to reach as much potential as he can and be the mid-rotation starter that he's projected to be. He can certainly do it.

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