Skip to main content

2021 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #2 RHP Francisco Morales

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else. 

Morales, image- Jay Floyd

Right-handed pitcher Francisco Morales has emerged as not only one of the Phillies' best prospects but quite possibly one of the best young arms in the sport.

Inked 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 made his regular season minor league 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).

In 2018 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 collected 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.

In 2019 the talented pitcher notched a 1-8 record with a save, a 3.82, a .226 batting average against and a 12.0 K/9 mark in 27 appearances with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws.  

Last year he participated in the fall instructional league once again, but missed a full season of action due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  

The 21-year-old possesses a repertoire that includes a fastball that peaks at 98 MPH, a terrific slider that dives down and away from righty batters and a vastly improved change up that has good ideal arm speed.  Morales uses that menu to get a lot of swings-and-misses from the opposition.

The change up was an offering that wasn't a claim to fame for Morales heading into 2019, but as he used it more and more (coaches would assign an amount of change ups Morales needed to use in any given outing), batters on the opposing team began to wonder aloud to his BlueClaws teammates, "When did he start throwing that?" 

Walks had been a concern for Morales, but he took considerable strides in that regard as part of the Lakewood roster.  He averaged roughly 5.9 walks per nine innings prior to 2019 and saw that average reside around 4.3 in 2019.

Coaches loved the maturity that Morales showed on the mound as a BlueClaw.  Lakewood pitching coach Matt Hockenberry asserted to me toward the end of the season that Morales possesses remarkable mound presence and showed plenty of mental toughness.

The starting role is very likely where Morales will stay, as he has sky high upside.  The sky is the limit for this exceptional talent.  Expect to see him in action at the Double-A level this year.

You can keep tabs on this year's Phillies prospects countdown by clicking on this link.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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. ...

Q&A with Tim Gradoville

Tim Gradoville is a career minor league catcher, who once, as a September call up, was up with the big club for the proverbial cup of coffee. Slated to be the Phillies bullpen catcher, at a later date, Gradoville is currently assigned as a special instructor with the Lakewood BlueClaws. I had the opportunity to speak with Tim and here's how that went down... What's the atmosphere with the BlueClaws like so far this season? Well, I think we have a good mix of players. We have some veteran guys, and some young guys too, so it makes for an interesting mix. I think the guys like to have a good time, and they're pretty loose and that translates into winning games. They have a good time. With a young team, you never know what you're gonna get, sometimes, but they seem to gel pretty well together, so that helps to build team unity, helps guys get along. They're having fun, they're enjoying baseball. This game can be a grind sometimes, if you're not having fun. What...

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...