Justin Murray - #24

(Manhattan High School)

 

 

Topeka Stars

2003

 

Topeka Stars

2004

 

Topeka Stars

2005

 

Topeka Stars

 

 

Topeka Stars

 

Topeka Stars

 

Topeka Stars

 

Topeka Stars

 

Kansas State

 

East Texas

Pump Jacks

 

East Texas

Pump Jacks

 

Stockton Ports

 

Stockton Ports

 

Stockton Ports

 

Midland

Rock Hounds - AA

 

Arizona Athletics

 

Justin just looked like a baseball player, the first time that I saw him.  He had a long athletic body and great baseball instincts.  Justin played fall and summer baseball for the Stars for three seasons.  He is one of a very small group of players who played as a sophomore.  By his senior season Justin had established himself as an elite baseball player and the undisputed leader of the team. 

 

It was difficult to determine where to play Justin because he could play all nine positions.  Coach Frank Magee still thinks he might have made an outstanding catcher.  He blocked and moved his feet extremely well and had a quick and accurate arm, with consistent pop times around 1.9 second.  During his senior season, with the Stars Justin lead the team with a .368 average while playing every infield position.  He also had a 1.39 ERA to lead the team while pitching against all of the premier teams, in tournaments.  Justin went on to Kansas State University and settled in as a pitcher. 

 

Justin was names to the first team Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches all-state team in 2005.

 

In Justin’s junior season with the Kansas State Wildcats, he went 3-2 with a 4.21 ERA, finishing second on the staff in starts and innings pitched.  Pitching primarily out of the bullpen in 2007 as a sophomore, he led Kansas State pitchers in appearances.

 

In the summer of 2007, playing for the McKinney Marshals, Justin gained widespread attention with a breakout season.  He was named the TCL’s Pitcher of the Year after going 5-2 with an unheard-of 0.54 ERA.  In 50 innings pitched, he allowed merely three earned runs and walked only eight batters while striking out 48. Murray topped the TCL in ERA, tied for the league lead in wins, and finished fourth in strikeouts.  Following the season, he was named the league’s #3 prospect by Baseball America.

 

Justin was the 874th pick in the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft.