Milwaukee Brewers: Why is Corey Ray on the Injured List?

Milwaukee Brewers top prospect Corey Ray landed on the 7-day Injured List for the San Antonio Missions on Wednesday. What happened to Ray and will he be out long?

It’s odd when the second rated prospect lands on the Injured List with an unspecified injury. Corey Ray will sit out at least seven days before he can return to the every day lineup.

Did anything odd happen in Tuesday’s game?

Ray started in center field, and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, and was lifted in the top of the seventh inning for utility man Nate Orf. It appears he injured himself on a diving play in the outfield.

Thankfully it doesn’t appear to be serious and the injury is not to his throwing hand. His glove probably got caught on the ground during his dive and that’s what caused the injury to his finger.

How is Ray’s season going?

Before the injury? Rough.

In 12 games with the Missions, Ray owns a .170/.250/.170 slash line. In 52 plate appearances, Ray has struck out 24 times, and only managed four walks. He’s ice cold after posting a solid Spring.

The Milwaukee Brewers were expected Ray to make ‘a leap’ in 2019. That can still happen, but the slow start plus the injury announcement indicate that Ray still has a lot of work to do before he’ll see the 25-man roster or warrant a September call up.

With a full Brewers outfield in the big leagues, it would’ve been tough to make the jump to Milwaukee to begin with, and this injury is just another thing to put him behind the eight-ball. Perhaps the time off will help him get things going at the plate as he can refocus mentally. But the injury will make it uncomfortable on swings, especially if it lingers.

The time away from the field could also allow Ray to refocus and get his 2019 season back on track. Ray still has a chance to have a solid career in the Majors, but he has to find a way to get over his ‘swing-and-miss’ issues.