Lucas John Raley (born September 19, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021 for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

Amateur career

Raley graduated from Highland High School in

Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 Census. It lies about 33 miles (53 km) south of Cleveland and 23 miles (37 km) west of Akron within the Cleve ...

. He was named to the Ohio All-State Baseball Team as a senior. After going undrafted out of high school, he enrolled at

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. As of the 2016–2017 academic year, the total enrollment was 1,177 stud ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. In 2014, he briefly played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

for the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

. As a junior at Lake Erie, he hit .424 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .528

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in 47 games. After his junior year, he was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, and he signed for $150,000.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

After signing, Raley was assigned to the

Arizona League Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is comp ...

. After batting .625 in five games, was promoted to the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitcher ...

, and after batting .417 in five games with Ogden, he was promoted to the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. His ...

. He finished the season with Great Lakes batting .245 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 56 games. In 2017, Raley played for the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The fra ...

where he slashed .295/.375/.473 with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs in 123 games and was named a California League All-Star. He began 2018 with the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, being selected to the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All-Star Game.

Minnesota Twins

On July 31, 2018, Raley was traded to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

, along with Devin Smeltzer and Logan Forsythe for

Brian Dozier James Brian Dozier (;born May 15, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. The Minnesota Twins selected Dozier in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012 and he played in ...

. He was assigned to the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home ...

and finished the season there. In 120 total games between Tulsa and Chattanooga, he hit .275 with twenty home runs and 69 RBIs. He spent 2019 with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...

, playing in only 33 games due to injury and hitting .302/.362/.516/.878 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. He played for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

following the 2019 season. Raley was added to the Twins 40-man roster on November 20, 2019.

Return to the Dodgers

On February 10, 2020, the Twins traded Raley, Brusdar Graterol and the 67th pick in the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

to the Dodgers for

Kenta Maeda is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He won the 2010 ...

, Jaír Camargo and cash considerations. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On April 9, 2021, Raley was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night as a defensive replacement in right field in the eighth inning. In his first at-bat, he grounded out to first base against Sam Clay of the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

. His first career hit came on April 14, an opposite-field double against Daniel Bard of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. On April 16, Raley hit his first career home run off of Dan Altavilla of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He appeared in 33 games for the Dodgers during the season, hitting .182 with two home runs and four RBI. He also appeared in 72 games for the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their hom ...

, hitting .294 with 19 homers and 69 RBI. He struck out in his one at-bat in the Wild Card Game, his first post-season appearance.

Tampa Bay Rays

On March 18, 2022, Raley was traded to the

in exchange for

Tanner Dodson Tanner Dodson (born May 9, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Amateur career Dodson attended Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California. In 2015, as a senior, he batted .430 along w ...

. Raley began the 2022 season with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

, where he batted .299/.374/.575 with 7 home runs and 25 RBIs in 24 games. He was promoted to the major league roster on June 21, 2022, following injuries to

Kevin Kiermaier Kevin James Kiermaier (; born April 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2013 to 2022. Kiermaier was part of amat ...

and Manuel Margot.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raley, Luke Living people 1994 births People from Hinckley, Ohio Baseball players from Ohio Major League Baseball outfielders Arizona League Dodgers players Bourne Braves players Chattanooga Lookouts players Durham Bulls players Great Lakes Loons players Gulf Coast Twins players Lake Erie Storm baseball players Los Angeles Dodgers players Ogden Raptors players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Rochester Red Wings players Salt River Rafters players Tampa Bay Rays players Tulsa Drillers players Lakeshore Chinooks players