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MMN Top 40 Prospects: No. 32 Akeel Morris

By Former Writers

October 23, 2013 No comments

2014 Top 40 Prospects

32. Akeel Morris, RHPp592055848-3

Height: 6’1

Weight: 170

DOB: 11/14/1992 (Age: 20)

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Fastball: 55/60+ Curve: 45/55 Changeup: 40/45 Control: 40/50 Mechanics: 45/50

The 2010 draftee Akeel Morris, a well-known flamethrower, makes his way onto our list at No. 32 after an impressive year in Brooklyn. If you haven’t seen the stats, he posted an ERA of 1.00 in 45.0 innings pitched  — just five earned runs — with 60 strikeouts over that span. He walked 23 batters, but improved on his BB/9 from last year (5.2 to 4.6). He surrendered just one home run working mainly as a piggyback reliever — he would come in for appearances that lasted multiple innings on the schedule of a regular starter. He made 14 appearances, averaging a little over 3.0 innings per appearance, and finished the game in seven of those appearances.

Morris has a fastball that is bursting with life — and it sits in the mid 90s for the most part. His secondary pitches consist of a curveball that looks like it has 12-6 movement and a change-up that is inconsistent. The change usually works around the mid 80s, which is a decent enough drop from his fastball that he is able to get away with location mistakes. The curveball tends to work in the low 70s. He’s not the biggest guy either, so he’s an injury risk down the line based on how much effort he exerts in his delivery to the plate and the amount of velocity he generates…keep that in mind.

Outlook: As much as I’d like to say I see Akeel Morris as a starter down the line, I would almost prefer them to switch him to a reliever at this point. Usually, I advocate for pushing a starter as far as you can in his role — but Morris’ mechanics and frame worry me and a conversion to a full-time reliever would allow him to move through the system quicker. I’m perfectly okay if they employ the piggybacking type strategy in Savannah to make sure Morris gets work as if he was a starter, but his control issues and mechanics worry me in terms of his long-term potential as a starter. That being said, he could probably be a great middle-to-late reliever in the MLB someday with his collection of pitches.

MMN Top 40 Prospects

40. Jhoan Urena

39. Patrick Biondi

38. Chris Flexen

37. L.J. Mazzilli

36. Miller Diaz

35. Hansel Robles

34. Robert Gsellman

33. Allan Dykstra

32. Akeel Morris