Kurtz ... Trout ... Ethan Murray? Brewers Minor Leaguer blasts MASSIVE homer
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PHOENIX -- Infielder Ethan Murray is not usually mentioned among the Brewers’ prospects with light tower power. But maybe he should be.
Murray, a 25-year-old who split last season between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Nashville, crushed a go-ahead three-run home run in Sunday’s 6-3 Brewers win over the Mariners that sailed a Statcast-projected 477 feet and smacked the light tower next to the scoreboard in left-center field at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
There was much debate in the Brewers clubhouse and on the field about that projection, but it was fun to ponder. During the 2025 MLB regular season, there were only four homers hit farther, per Statcast:
- 493 feet -- Nick Kurtz, A’s (Sept. 13 vs. Reds)
- 485 feet -- Mike Trout, Angels (Sept. 20 vs Rockies)
- 484 feet -- Trout (April 19 vs. Giants)
- 479 feet -- Byron Buxton, Twins (June 11 vs. Rangers)
How many 477-footers does Murray have on his baseball resume?
“Zero,” he said. “But that one felt good. Really good.”
It was a serious poke for a player who has hit 26 home runs across five Minor League seasons since Milwaukee made him a fifth-round Draft pick out of Duke in 2021. His career high for homers in a season is nine, a mark set last season when Murray set a career high with a .376 slugging percentage.
Murray was called over from Minor League camp to play the entire Major League game on Sunday, helping the Brewers cover at-bats while 14 other Major and Minor Leaguers are away playing in the World Baseball Classic.
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“I’m just happy to fill in,” Murray said.
“That’s the fun of Spring Training,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, “seeing that kind of thing. He’s poised. It doesn’t seem like he’s afraid at all.”
Murray isn’t in the running for the Opening Day roster, but the fact he touched the Triple-A level last season means he’s in the picture for the future. He earned the promotion after a sizzling start for Biloxi, where he posted an .823 OPS in 64 games, but then hit .198/.272/.248 in 29 games in Nashville.
“I got moved up and it felt like the game sped up on me a little bit,” Murray said. “But yeah, [the big leagues] felt close. I’m just really excited to put it all together this year.”