At the end of a disappointing 2024 season, Chicago Cubs minor leaguer BJ Murray decided to get back to work as soon as possible.
So, Murray, who had only about a week off due to travels, quickly returned to his home in Florida, got in the batting cage and set out to prove that his struggles were a fluke.
“That was the first time in my life I had failed,” Murray said. “Like, I couldn’t figure it out. I wasn’t getting better during the year and that pissed me off.”
Murray was determined to be the player who had once made him a promising prospect in the organization. The hard work paid off the following season and has again this season. Murray turned things around and is now enjoying one of the best starts of his professional career during his second stint with the Iowa Cubs.
“He has done just a fantastic job defensively and offensively and at times he’s carried the team at the plate,” said Iowa manager Marty Pevey.
That’s what the Cubs have been hoping for out of the 26-year-old Murray after he was selected by Chicago in the 15th round of the 2021 draft out of FAU. Murray had a good eye at the plate and produced some pop to swiftly move through the system, tallying an .844 OPS with 16 homers during the 2023 season in Double-A.
He earned his first promotion to Triple-A to begin the 2024 season. But Murray struggled mightily in his first stint in Iowa, hitting just .204 with a .668 OPS and 86 strikeouts in 88 games. He didn’t do much better in Double-A, hitting just .155 in 15 games with the Tennessee Smokies that year. Murray said the struggles weren’t a skillset issue.
“I was coming off a pretty solid year the year before, so sometimes you get a little comfortable and comfort ain’t good for this game,” Murray said.
The issues at the plate made Murray uncomfortable with how his career was going. But he was intent on fixing them. So, he made massive changes following the 2024 season, starting with his work ethic. The only time he took off came right after the season when he was trapped in North Carolina for about a week due to Hurricane Helene. As soon as he got home, he started hitting and rarely stopped.
“I was in the cage that day,” Murray said.
Murray figured that hard work wasn’t going to fix all his problems. After determining he wasn’t mentally ready for the 2024 season, he tried to get his mind right for the upcoming campaign. He started journaling along with the work he was doing in the cage and in the gym.
“I had to figure something out,” Murray said. “So, the only way I could do that is to get to work. So, I went right to work and I had to figure out my inefficiencies and my strengths, essentially, you know? I think just going back to the work and what I needed to attack or the things that hurt me that year. I needed to figure out why I wasn’t good or why I wasn’t able to adjust to it.”
The work and self-reflection paid off in a big way for Murray with a bounce-back season in 2025. Despite being demoted back to Double-A, Murray took it in stride, smashing 18 doubles and 20 homers in 125 games. Pevey was impressed with how Murray handled being back in Double-A.
“Just a tip of the hat because it takes a lot of heart to do that,” Pevey said. “You could get down on yourself real easy, but he didn’t. He believed in himself.”
After the turnaround in 2025, there was no letup this past offseason either. In fact, Murray put even more work in. The versatile switch-hitter added a toe tap to his swing from the left side of the plate. Murray also worked on creating space for himself in the batter’s box to produce better results. One of the biggest things he did was come up with a routine that he stuck to in the offseason.
It’s worked.
He started the 2026 campaign in Iowa and through the first 51 games, he’s hit .311/.399/.487 with an .886 OPS. He’s also walloped 12 doubles, two triples and six homers. Murray’s done some moving around the field, playing third, first, left and manning the DH spot. While he’s happy with how things have begun, he knows there’s still a long way to go and a lot of work to do.
If Murray learned anything over the years, it’s not to get complacent with his game.
“I put in the work to be the best version of myself, so I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, but I’m happy with what I’ve done so far this year,” Murray said. “But…there’s always work to do and you could always get better.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: BJ Murray making the most of his second season with Iowa Cubs
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
