Skip to main content

2019 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #12 RHP Francisco Morales

Francisco Morales, image- MiLB.com
Right-handed pitcher Francisco Morales has, at a very young age, become one of the most promising hurlers in the Phillies organization.

Signed by the Phils in 2016 at age 16, for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native participated that year in the Florida Instructional League.

He would make his regular season debut the following year with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.05 ERA, a .225 batting average against and a 9.6 K/9 mark in 10 games (nine starts).

Last year, the six-foot-four 185-pounder stepped up to the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.  There, in 13 starts for Williamsport, Morales notched a 4-5 record with a 5.27 ERA, a .244 batting average against as well as a 10.9 K/9 mark.

Morales wrapped up his regular season in 2018 with five solid outings, sporting a 2.91 ERA over that stretch.  He also recorded a career-high 11 strike outs in a six-inning effort that earned him a win on August 21, at home against State College.  

The 19-year-old features a repertoire that includes a fastball that resides around 95-96 MPH, a terrific slider that dives down and away from righty batters and an improving change up.  Morales gets a lot of swings-and-misses out of the opposition.

Walks have been concerning in his career to date for Morales, as he averages about 5.9 of those per nine innings.  That control issue is said to be due to an inconsistent delivery, but that isn't worrisome with a young hurler such as Morales, as he has plenty of time to iron things out.  The youngster won't turn 20 years old until after the 2019 season.

His future as a starter may depend on how the change up plays for him at full-season levels.  If the offering doesn't get to where the Phillies' developmental staff likes it, he would be best suited as a reliever, with a strong two-pitch menu.

I would expect Morales to open 2019 in the rotation for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws.  

You can track this year's complete Phillies top prospects countdown by clicking this link

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...