Atlanta Braves New Acquisition Scouting Report: Akeel Morris

Atlanta Braves Right Hander Akeel Morris

Who Is He?

Morris was drafted in the 10th round in 2010 by the Mets out of high school in Virginia. He was young for his draft class, and at 17, he went to the Mets GCL team. He pitched very well, with a 2.19 ERA in 24 2/3 innings, sporting a 17/28 BB/K ratio.

He was moved up to the advanced rookie league in 2011 and made 11 starts, compiling a 3.86 ERA in 51 1/3 innings, with a 38/61 BB/K ratio. The Mets chose to return him to Kingsport in 2012, and things were much different, as he threw 38 1/3 innings, sporting a 7.98 ERA, but he did have a 22/50 BB/K ratio.

Morris was injured the next season, and with the lack of breaking pitch development, the Mets moved him to the bullpen full-time as the 2013 season wore on. He pitched in low-A Brooklyn, pitching 45 innings with a sparkling 1.00 ERA and a 23/60 BB/K ratio.

2014 saw a bump to Savannah in the South Atlantic League, and Morris continued to dominate out of the bullpen, posting a 0.63 ERA for the entire season in 41 appearances, covering 57 innings, saving 16 games and sporting a 22/89 BB/K ratio.

Morris hopped two levels in 2015, starting at high-A St. Lucie, moving up to AA Binghamton, and finishing with a single forgettable appearance with the Mets. Overall, his 2015 minor league numbers were a 2.05 ERA over 47 appearances covering 61 1/3 innings, tallying a 29/81 BB/K ratio.

Morris started with Binghamton again this season, and he had a big blow up game that skewed his ERA to 4.62, but in 22 appearances spanning 25 1/3 innings, he still had a 16/36 BB/K ratio. The Mets then traded him to the Braves for Kelly Johnson, and he’s made two appearances for the Braves since without allowing a run in 2 2/3 innings, with a 3/3 BB/K ratio.

Next: Morris's scouting report

Scouting Report

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Morris is 6’1 and 195 pounds, and he looks like that’s accurate. He’s got a fastball that runs up to 95-97 MPH when he’s going well, but he usually sits in the 93-94 until he really needs to reach back. His change up is tremendously good and plays up due to his arm slot. He has a slider that can look slurvy, but it is effective low in the zone. That said, it’s the fastball/change combo that’s the key for Morris out of the bullpen.

Morris pitches exclusively out of the stretch. He has a high, over-the-top release. He starts his motion with his hands drifting from his head to his belt, when he then kicks barely belt high and then lunges forward. He has a big leg kick follow through.

From that short motion to get to over the top and a big leg kick requires some tremendous force, but it also means that Morris misses his landing spot often as he pushes toward the plate, and, most troubling, he also struggles with his arm dragging behind his body some.

The arm drag could be an issue, especially with the change. I’d be worried about his arm health with that arm drag as well. The change has a very interesting effect coming from so far overhead as it just seems to stop in its progression toward the plate, the speed seems so off. His hand speed is perfectly matched to the fastball, and the spin difference is even tough to pick up watching multiple replays until you get a few feet out of his hand, and by that point, the batter doesn’t have the chance to adjust anymore.

Next: Future outlook