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seestyle Сообщения: 383 Профессия: Возраст: | #1 07.12.2022 11:13 |
The Cleveland Indians have the youngest team in baseball. I am showcasing each of these players journeys in a series called Behind the Dream. Each week will be another players story in no particular order.Due to the absence of Minor League play in 2020 many fans are not familiar with the guys whove joined the Tribe. I feel that often we see a new young face in the roster and dont know enough about how they got there. The grind to get to the Major Leagues is difficult. Each players story is unique.The move:The 25-year-old pitcher made his Major League debut on May 28 against Toronto. The weather that day was le s than ideal. Ive given Morgan the nickname Monsoon Morgan as the winds gusted over 40mph that game and sheets of rain blew through the ballpark. He pitched 2.2 innings giving up eight hits and surrendered Austin Barnes Jersey six runs.Morgan had a better outing in his second start on June 17 against the Orioles. Morgan went 3.2 innings allowing five hits and giving up three runs. The weather conditions were ideal, but this outing wasnt without incident. Morgan took a hit ball, at around 102 mph, off his elbow. Fortunately, he wasnt injured.The right-handers third and most recent start has been his best thus far. Morgan faced the Cubs and retired 10 consecutive batters to start off.He allowed a solo shot from Kris Bryant in the fourth inning but settled back in to retire the next five hitters.Morgan started the sixth and gave up three straight hits and Nick Sandlin came in for relief. Morgan had five innings pitched with four hits, four runs and nine strikeouts.Indians Skipper Terry Francona had this to say on Morgan after the game:- "Ill tell ya what man he pitched his heart out. Enrique Hernandez Jersey He pumped strikes, different speeds, had a bunch of strikeouts, Francona said.Morgan felt that getting ahead of hitters was the key to his outing. He identified getting through the order for a third time is an area where he will need to focus for improvement.The Journey:Morgan grew up in southern California. He pitched at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in Rolling Hills, California. In 2014, during his senior year, he carried a 1.23 ERA. That season led to Morgan being Bay League Co-Pitcher of the Year as well as All-CIF First team Alex Wood Jersey . He wasnt drafted in MLBs 2014 draft out of high school.Scroll to ContinueHe attended Gonzaga University where he pitched for three seasons (2015-2017). During his sophomore and junior years, he was First Team All-West Coast Conference. In his final year at Gonzaga, he went 10-2 with a 2.86 ERA and recorded the second most strikeouts (138) ever in the Universitys history. Morgans college career landed him third in strikeouts and second in wins for Gonzaga. In 2017, Morgan was added to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. He was also one of just four pitchers in the country with multiple 15-strikeout games.The Indians picked Morgan in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB draft. He pitched 35 innings that season for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers with a 1.03 ERA and a 3-2 record.In 2018, Morgan started the season with the Lake County Captains. He advanced to pitch for the Lynchburg Hillcats in May of the season. Morgan had 27 starts between the two teams that year. He went 9-7 with a 3.27 ERA and fanned 156 hitters.He started 2019 off with the Hillcats then was promoted to the Akron Rubber Ducks. Morgan was Walker Buehler Jersey named an All-Star as a member of the Rubber Ducks. He made one start in Triple-A that year for the Columbus Clippers but finished the year in Akron. Morgan went 9-6 carrying a 3.39 ERA with 146 strikeouts in a little over 140 innings.Cleveland added Morgan to their 40-man roster in November of 2020.In the spring of 2021, Morgan didnt get any work in exhibition. This was due to minor right arm fatigue he had experienced in the offseason. Morgans throwing progre sion wasnt up to speed with this setback, and he spent time in extended spring training.Morgan began this season with the Clippers. His major league debut on May 28th was one of significance for the Lake Erie Captains. Morgan became the Fernando Valenzuela Jersey 100th player in the Captains franchise history to get called to the majors.Prior to his MLB debut, he had four starts in Columbus. Morgan went 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA over 17.1 innings. Over his career 332.3 innings in the minors, Morgan struck out a remarkable 373 batters.Morgans pitch strength is his unique change-up. The effectivene s of this pitch earned him the Best Change-up in Clevelands Farm System by Baseball America two years in a row.Due to injuries within the Indians starting pitching rotation, Morgan has a chance to shine. His next start will only be his fourth so there isnt a large sample size of what hes doing in the majors. However, if he can carry his solidne s from college and the minors into the big leagues, hell pa s the ultimate test.To date with the Indians, Morgan carries a 10.21 ERA through 11.1 innings pitched. Hes allowed 17 hits, 13 runs and struck out 15 batters. | |