Morris & Applebee Signed
July 4th, 2009
Old news at this point, but the Nationals signed 4th round RHP A.J. Morris and 10th rd LHP Paul Applebee bringing their draft total to 25/51. No word on bonus or where they will report but if I were to guess, I’d imagine Morris is headed to Vermont and Applebee to the GCL.
The Nationals signings from the draft class, to date, is comprised of:
- Four high schoolers (three hitters and one pitcher)
- Six JuCo/CC players (one hitter and five pitchers)
- One college sophomore (pitcher)
- Six college juniors (two hitters and four pitchers)
- Eight college seniors (three hitters and five pitchers)
Categories: Draft
I’m not sure about Applebee but I heard Morris will be reporting to Hagerstown.
Brian – Morris had quite a year in college. Why did he “slip” to fourth round, based on his accomplishments? The Big 12 isn’t a baseball hub – is that the reason?
Mark: The Big 12 is probably a lot better than you give it credit for, particularly since it produced the runners up for the National Championship. Morris definitely faced good competition this season and was named pitcher of the year in the conference, beating out players such as Kyle Gibson for the honor.
All that means nothing now, we’ll see how he does as a pro.
From R.B.I. on Morris: -”Ranking: #19 (82)” -”While Morris has good stuff, it doesn’t compare favorably to other second-tier college pitchers, like South Carolina’s Sam Dyson and Lipscomb’s Rex Brothers. Morris also doesn’t have ideal size.” -”The second tier of the college pitching crop in ’09 is composed of two types of pitchers: ones with superior stuff and questionable numbers and another group with average stuff who have dominated college baseball. Morris is a member of the latter group”
Seems like Applebee should be slated for Vermont to me. He’s a guy who has average stuff but knows how to hit his spots and change speeds. He won’t learn much by going to the GCL.
Morris had a fantastic year, beating several first rounders along the way (Leake, Gibson, Oliver, Volz), going 4-0 against top-10 teams and 8-0 against tournament teams (I posted this analysis during the run-up to the draft, but I can’t find it right now).
You have to think his value falls because of his size and scouts perceptions of what a MLB-ready pitcher looks like.
I hope he goes to Hagerstown for two reasons: he’s an accomplished college starter/a graduating senior and that’s where he belongs. And, Vermont already has 6-7 starters they’re trying to vet. At Hagerstown he could replace Pecina or Peacock for a bit, work his way into Professional life and move up to Harrisburg quickly (where we desperately need quality starters).
Okay. So what’s the difference between Mike Leake and AJ Morris?
Leake has more velocity on the FB, has two more average to solid average pitches, and a deeper track record against better competition.