‘BJ’ Murray to play in the Arizona Fall League
Simba FrenchSend an emailSeptember 21, 2022 68 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
In just his second professional season since being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2021 in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, Bahamian Bertram ‘BJ’ Murray got a call to play for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League on Sunday.
It is a huge step in the right direction for the 22-year-old as he looks to get to the majors. Murray is currently playing for the pennant-winning South Bend Cubs in the Midwest League Championship as they take on the Lake County Captains in High-A Baseball. The Captains lead that best-of-three series 1-0. The second game was played last night, but there wasn’t any result available up to press time.
The Arizona Fall League is a six-week league that features some of the best talent in the farm system. Mesa features players from the Oakland Athletics, Cubs, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. It gets underway on October 3.
The third baseman was called up from the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in Single-A in June to the South Bend Cubs.
He finished with a batting average of .273 in 56 games for the Cubs in the regular season. Murray posted 51 hits, five home runs, eight doubles and one triple. The former Florida Atlantic University (FAU) standout had 28 runs batted in (RBIs) and 22 runs scored. His on-base percentage was .388 and he had a slugging percentage of .406 for an on-base plus slugging (OPS) percentage of .794. He was able to steal eight bases.
Overall, this past season, he accumulated a batting average of .286, thanks to a .305 average for the Pelicans. He was able to finish with 61 RBIs, 10 home runs and 106 hits. He ended his season strong, especially in September. He went 10-for-30 and was able to finish with a batting average of .333 during the month. Murray had one home run and scored five runs during the month. Murray’s best game of the month was in the final game of the season when his Cubs took down the Cedar Rapids, 9-2. In that game, Murray was impressive, going 3-for-4 and scoring one run. He was able to steal a base.
In the four postseason games, he is averaging a batting average of .462 and has gone 6-for-13. He has two runs scored and two RBIs to go along with eight total bases. His on-base percentage in the postseason is .563 and his slugging percentage is .615 for a 1.171 OPS.
In the first game in the championship against the Captains, the infielder was impressive at the plate, going 3-for-4, scoring two runs and hitting two doubles.
The Bahamian and the Mesa Solar Sox will kick off the Arizona Fall League on Monday October 3 against the Scottsdale Scorpions at 6.35 p.m.
Bahamians Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr. and Lucius Fox Jr., who were the seventh and eighth Bahamians to be called up to the majors, both played in the Arizona Fall League. Chisholm is a starting infielder with the Miami Marlins and Fox got his call-up with the Washington Nationals but has since been sent down to the club’s Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings.