Curtis Mead #16

Curtis is the third Australian-born player to appear for the Rays, joining pitchers Grant Balfour (2007-10, 2014-15) and Damian Moss (2004)…he is attempting to become the first Australian position player regular since MIL Dave Nilsson, who took his final at-bat in the Majors over a year before Curtis was born...His father, Tim, played for the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League…newspapers described Tim as having a “Rolls Royce Swing.”...For most of his childhood, he was pushed to play Aussie rules football but chose the road less traveled in baseball…at age 16, the Woodville-West Torrens in the South Australian National Football League wanted Mead to pick a sport…he chose baseball and quickly earned a spot on the Australian junior National Team and as a professional in the Australian Baseball League…according to Curtis, the decision “came down to the wire.”...His grandfather was a cricket player who picked up baseball when he lived in Darwin, where the game was introduced by American servicemen stationed there during World War II...His sister, Jamie, plays softball for Southeastern University in Lakeland...The Mead family flew approximately 10,000 miles over the course of around 40 hours to witness Curtis’ first major league series in Detroit last August…they journeyed from Adelaide, Australia to Melbourne to Los Angeles to Detroit…just as they landed in the U.S., Curtis recorded his first hit, sparking tears of joy while the Meads waited to pass through customs.

2023

Appeared in 24 games and made 20 starts (3B-16, 2B-4) in his first Major League season…had two stints on the Rays active roster: Aug. 4-24 and Sept. 12 through the end of the season...Began the season with Triple-A Durham and hit .294 (69-for-235) with 21 doubles, two triples, nine HR and 45 RBI in 61 games…placed on the 7-day IL on May 4 and missed nearly two months due to a fractured left wrist...Went 18-for-55 (.327) with one or zero outs compared to 3-for-28 (.107) with two outs...Made his MLB debut on Aug. 4 at DET…recorded an opposite-field single on the first pitch he saw off Brendan White, becoming the sixth Ray with a hit on the first pitch he saw in the majors since pitch tracking first became available in 2000, including the first since Robinson Chirinos on Sept. 18, 2011 vs. NYY...At the time of his debut, became the 34th Australian-born player to appear in the Majors and the first to make his MLB debut since BAL Alex Wells on June 26, 2021 vs. TOR...He became the third Australian-born player to appear for the Rays, joining Grant Balfour (2007- 10, 2014-15) and Damian Moss (2004)...Hit safely in 15 straight starts from Aug. 13–Sept. 29, tied for the fourth-longest streak by a Major League rookie this season and matching Randy Winn in 1998 for the longest streak by a rookie in Rays history...On Aug. 14 at SF, recorded a career-high three hits and matched a career high with three runs (3x, last: Aug. 22 vs. COL)...Tallied a career-high 2 RBI on Aug. 19 at LAA (1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2R)...On Sept. 13 at MIN, registered his first career triple, launching a deep fly ball that deflected off the glove of Max Kepler...Hit his first career HR on Sept. 22 vs. TOR (off Chris Bassitt)…was the first Australian-born player to homer since MIN Luke Hughes (8/31/11 at CWS)...Rated the No. 34 overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com following the season...POSTSEASON: Recorded a hit in each game of the ALWC vs. Texas, going 2-for-6 with an RBI…plated the Rays only run of the postseason with an RBI-single in the seventh inning in Game 2, marking the Rays first postseason tally since Jose Siri’s solo homer in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the 2022 ALWC at CLE, snapping a 33-inning streak without a run…he became the fifth Rays rookie to record a postseason RBI and the first Australian-born player to record an RBI in the postseason.

2022

Split the season between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, earning a June 27 promotion…combined to hit .298/.390/.532 (84-for-282) with 13 HR and 50 RBI in 76 games…tied for fourth among Rays Minor Leaguers with 27 2B...Missed time from July 29–Aug. 19 with a right elbow strain…after returning for four games, received an injection to help the healing process and was shut down for the rest of the season...Named the Rays Minor League Hitter of the Month for June, batting .333 (32-for-96) with eight 2B, seven HR and 20 RBI between two levels...Started for the AL team in the Futures Game in July at Dodger Stadium, going 0-for-3...Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 36 overall prospect in the minors following the season… was the No. 2 prospect in the Rays system…the publication also tabbed him as the Best Hitter for Average in the organization and the Best Batting Prospect in the Southern League in its Best Tools survey.

2021

In 2021, advanced from Class-A Charleston to Durham, batting .321/.378/.533 (132-for-411) with 38 2B, 15 HR and 69 RBI in 104 games… promoted from Charleston to Class-A Bowling Green on July 6 and to Durham on Sep. 11...Led the minors in doubles and led Rays minor leaguers in hits and extra-base hits (55)…tied for 3rd among Rays minor leaguers with 77 runs...Hit .313/.360/.530 (26-for-83) with five 2B, two 3B, three HR and 11 RBI in 20 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League…named to the AFL Rising Stars Game...Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 97 overall prospect in the minors following the season… was the No. 5 prospect in the Rays system…the publication also tabbed him as the Best Power Hitter in the organization.

2020

In 2020, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool and did not play following the cancellation of the minor league season.

2019

In 2019, ranked seventh in the Gulf Coast League with 18 XBH and tied for seventh with 12 2B.