Selected by the Rays in the sixth round (191st overall) of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech…previously selected by the White Sox in the 39th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign...Went 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA (63.2IP, 27ER) over 14 appearances (13GS) as a junior at Texas Tech in 2021…his 84 SO were second most on the team… was teammates with Rays minor leaguer Dru Baker...When he received the call from Triple-A Durham manager Morgan Ensberg informing him of his major league promotion, Mason and his fiancée, Madison, were shopping at a Target in Columbus, Ohio, capitalizing on a rare mid-week off day to see the movie “Blink Twice”… after an early-morning flight, he made his Major League debut at Tropicana Field the following evening...Mason prefers a simple, yet effective, approach to pitching…when asked to explain his philosophy, he said, “It’s pretty simple, but my approach is to just kind of throw the ball down the middle and let my stuff work…I’m not a guy who likes to try to go for corners…I’ll try to play it up in the zone, but pretty much from the start of the at-bat, I’m throwing it down the middle. It’s all about strike-throwing…if you throw strikes, you’re going to be successful.”...Mason’s father, Bobby, played collegiate baseball at Howard Payne University...He enjoys outdoor leisure activities in his free time, especially fishing.
2024
Recorded a 1.86 ERA (9.2IP, 2ER) and 17 SO over nine appearances in his first career Major League action…opened the season with Triple-A Durham, making 31 appearances (14GS) before his contract was selected on Sept. 5…began transitioning to a relief role in May after his first nine outings with the Bulls came as a starter...Averaged 97.3 mph on his four-seam fastball… min. 100 fastballs thrown, it signaled the third-fastest mark on any AL left-handed pitcher’s heater behind CWS Garrett Crochet’s cutter (97.9) and BAL Gregory Soto’s four-seamer (97.6)...Struck out 17 of 37 batters faced (45.9%), including seven of 14 left-handed hitters, and generated a 47.0 pct. whiff rate…min. 50 swings, it marked the highest whiff rate in the majors...Added to the Major League roster on Sept. 5 and made his MLB debut that night vs. MIN (1.0IP, 0H, 1BB, 1SO)…fanned José Miranda for his first career strikeout...Became the second reliever in club history to hold opponents hitless across their first four career appearances, joining Jake McGee (6G, 2010)…was one of four MLB rookies to accomplish the feat in 2024 along with CLE Andrew Walters (8G), TEX Cole Winn (5G) and MIA Lake Bachar (4G)...On Sept. 24 at DET, became the first reliever in Rays history to throw at least two frames and strike out every batter faced…was the 16th pitcher in MLB history to accomplish the feat and first since MIA Anthony Bender on July 2, 2021 at ATL…Bender and Montgomery are the only MLB rookies to turn the trick since 2007...Made 31 appearances (14GS) with Triple-A Durham, going 1-7 with a 6.26 ERA (87.2IP, 61ER)…went 1-0 with a 2.67 ERA (30.1IP, 9ER) and 46 SO in his 17 relief appearances for the Bulls...Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 24 prospect in the Rays system following the season.
2023
Made 29 starts between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, going 7-4 with a 3.98 ERA (124.1IP, 55ER)…ranked among Rays minor leaguers in starts (1st), strikeouts (T1st, 144), innings (2nd), opponent avg. (3rd, .225), ERA (6th) and WHIP (6th, 1.33)…was named the Rays Minor League Co-Pitcher of the Month and Southern League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (26.0IP, 6ER) and 31 strikeouts across five starts…named to the Rays Organizational All-Star Team by MLB.com.
2022
Named Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Rays Baseball Operations department, going 6-3 with a 2.10 ERA (124-IP, 29-ER) and 171 SO in 27 starts between Class-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery…led Rays Minor Leaguers in ERA, strikeouts and opp. avg. (.196), ranked second in starts and innings and third in WHIP (1.06)…the 171 SO ranked sixth in the Minors and tied for ninth for a Rays minor leaguer in franchise history…named the Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 1-0 with a 1.66 ERA (21.2-IP, 4-ER) and 37 SO…at the time of his July 12 promotion to Montgomery, ranked among South Atlantic League leaders in ERA (1.81, first), strikeouts (118, first), WHIP (1.09, second) and opp. avg. (.194, second)…in 11 starts for the Biscuits, yielded three runs (or fewer) in each outing, and ended the season on a streak of five starts of allowing one run or fewer…ranked by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in the Rays system following the season.
