Skip to main content

Prospect Nation 2014: #11 LHP Adam Morgan

Drafted in the third round in 2011 out of the University of Alabama, left-hander Adam Morgan quickly made an impact in the Phillies' system upon debuting as a pro.  However, a shoulder injury last year that kept him out of action for a lengthy stretch and resulted in off-season surgery has reduced his value as a prospect in the eyes of many.

In 2011, Morgan looked great, tallying a 3-3 record with a 2.01 ERA and a .206 batting average against in 11 starts as a member of the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters.

Morgan would go on to skip full season Class A Lakewood and began the 2012 season with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers.  In the Florida State League, the Marietta, GA native tallied a 4-10 record with a 3.29 ERA and was named a mid-season All-Star. he earned a promotion to Double-A Reading after July and helped them reach the Eastern League playoffs, posting a 4-1 record along with a 3.53 ERA in six regular season starts.

Last season with the IronPigs, after eight outings, Morgan had a 1-4 record along with a 4.97 ERA and a .283 batting average against when he experienced shoulder discomfort and went out of action.  Following some time on the shelf and a pair of rehab appearances with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, Morgan posted an outstanding 1.59 ERA through his first seven starts after returning to the Lehigh Valley rotation, before he wrapped up his season with a troubling outing in which he allowed four earned runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Morgan's time working through physical rehab led to the discovery of what he described to me as "some hitches" that weren't helping him maintain a healthy throwing shoulder, so minor adjustments were made to his mechanics to improve his approach on the mound. 

After beginning an off-season throwing program late last year, a physical setback that popped up and further evaluation from Phillies team doctors led to surgery to repair his left shoulder.  The team expects Morgan to miss the majority of the 2014 season.

Despite the missed time and the injury, Morgan, who turns 24 years old before the end of this month, sees the positives from his 2013 season, having started his second full season in the minors at the Triple-A level and proving that he could compete at that level in the International League against some very talented prospects and plenty of players that have big league service time.

IronPigs manager Dave Brundage agrees that Morgan benefited a considerable amount from last season, pointing out to me late last season that the lessons of learning how to pitch without being at full strength and without your best stuff as well as what it takes to come back from injuries will help the youngster in the long run.

A solid ability to locate his pitches enables Morgan to get ahead of the opposition, although working around some shortcomings with his shoulder health last year resulted in a spike in his walk rate from 6.2% in 2012 to 7.3% in 2013.

Morgan also saw a drop in his K/9 mark last year, striking out 6.55 per nine innings, while he previously averaged a remarkable 10.29 strike outs per nine innings a year prior.

A very goal oriented individual, Morgan views his father, Wiley, as his hero.  Dating back to 5th grade, Adam wanted to be just like the elder Morgan and proclaimed at a young age that he would some day pitch for Alabama, just like his father had done. Showing with that achievement that he can do whatever he sets his mind to, Morgan has barely started accomplishing everything he wishes to do on the baseball diamond.

Morgan sports a repertoire that includes a solid low-90's fastball which features nice movement, a great change up that scouts have raved about, an excellent slider that he uses to attack opposing batters when he is ahead in the count and a curve ball that he's made some improvements with. 

Physically, Morgan, who stands six-foot-one and weighs 195 pounds, doesn't project to change much.  Skills wise, the talented hurler may have a ceiling as a back-end big league starter.  

Once Morgan is ready to return to the mound, which should occur before the end of the regular season if things progress well, expect him to get some rehab appearances with the rookie level GCL team or the Threshers to allow him to stay under the close supervision of Phillies trainers and staff in Clearwater.  Once his full health is established, a return to Triple-A would be suitable.

Click here to view the running list of this year's countdown. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #22 SS Casey Martin

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work, get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   A third round draft pick last year, Arkansas junior Casey Martin was quickly signed by the Phillies and consideration as one of the organization's top infield prospects quickly began.  The team's confidence in his ceiling is likely evident in the signing bonus he got, which was reportedly $1.3 million, which was considerably more than slot money dictated by his 87th overall draft position ($685K). The right-handed batting Martin tallied a .311/.393/.545 slash line with 30 homers, 24 steals and 112 RBI in 143 games through his college career at Arkansas.  Reports had him falling in the draft as a result of an injury to the hamate bone in his left hand prior to his 2020 season.  Prior to the procedure, Baseball America projected Martin as a top ten draft pick.

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal

Slick fielding Sam is the Champion of the (PhoulBallz) world!

Phillies Ball(z)girl Sam Arnone was kind enough to answer some questions for the PhoulBallz site and all of you. Sam will be entering her 3rd season as a Phillies ballgirl and is a junior at Drexel University. Sam hails from the great town of Mt. Ephram, NJ. 1- Since the Phillies are the World Champions of baseball teams, are the Phillies ballgirls the world champions of ballgirl teams? - Of Course!!! There are not that many teams that have Ballgirls, so the competition is a little scarce. I would definitely put my team up against any other Ballgirl team with full confidence! 2- What is your routine to prepare for a day of on-field duties? - Before a game, I am always a little nervous. Once I am ready to leave my house and head to the ballpark I triple check my bag to make sure I have my glove and then I check again. I always have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat because it keeps me full and gives me energy for the entire game. I guess I might have to find a new favorite sa