Having already faced J.T. Ginn and Jack Perkins this weekend, Sunday will see the first-ever start from A’s No. 3 prospect Luis Morales. Both Ginn and Perkins have had rough first innings against the Orioles, but have then shut down the O’s offense for the duration of their outings. Morales will be hoping to avoid the three-spot in the first, and just skip directly to the domination of the Baltimore bats.
The big difference between Morales and Ginn or Perkins is that the No. 3 prospect has many fewer innings in the big leagues than either righty.
The 22-year-old made his MLB debut on August 1, tossing two innings in relief, and has not made an appearance since. He gave up three hits and one run while walking a batter in that outing.
As the A’s have been tryng to limit his workload, Morales has transitioned from being a starting pitcher to a relief role since the end of June.
That also means that he hasn’t tossed as many as three innings since June 27, which does bring into question just how many pitches he’ll be good for on Sunday in Baltimore.
He’ll certainly be on a pitch count, but just how high that number is remains an unknown.
With this not being a full-fledged start, Morales may be able to air it out a little more, while also getting his feet wet in the rotation. The rotation is presumably a spot the A’s would like to see him in come Opening Day of next season, and the more data they have now will provide all parties with more information on how he should attack the offseason.
In his one outing he utilized five pitches, but relied most heavily on his four-seamer (56.8%) which sat at 96.3 miles per hour, but he also touched 98 with his first two pitches in that appearance. The slider was his other big pitch, which he threw 24.3% of the time, followed by a sweeper (10.8%), changeup (5.4%) and cutter (2.7%), according to Statcast data.
The one swing-and-miss he got in that game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was on his slider, but his fastball, slider, and change all rate as at least above-average on MLB Pipeline, with his four-seamer getting a 60 grade on the 20-80 scout scale, and his slider sitting at a 55. His control also rates as above average (50), which should good him a solid foundation to work with as he continues to develop.
The Athletics have had tons of success with their rookies this season, from Jacob Wilson being voted in as the starting shortstop in the American League, to Nick Kurtz having a four-homer game while being named the AL Player of the Month in July. The Orioles have also seen a couple of young arms the A’s have to offer already this series in Ginn and Perkins, but Morales may end up being the best of the trio.
Sunday will be his first opportunity to show a little bit of what he can do as a starter, and could provide a glimpse of what to expect from the A’s staff next season.
