Former New York Mets prospect moves into top-10 of A's system rankings

Jason Burke | 3 Hours Ago

Jul 13, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Athletics and New York Mets made a deal at the Trade Deadline that was fairly straightforward. The Mets received Paul Blackburn, and the A's got righty prospect Kade Morris, a 22-year-old former third-round pick.

Over at Baseball Prospectus, they recently revealed their new rankings for the A's top-10 prospects, and Morris made his way into this group, placing at No. 9. Over at MLB Pipeline (who have not updated their rankings just yet), Morris is ranked No. 19.

Part of the scouting report that Baseball Prospectus provides is pretty telling of what kind of a prospect Morris is. "Morris is a bit of a kitchen-sink righty now, showing off two different fastballs and three different breaking ball looks. The four-seam and sinker both come in around 93-94 and, while neither breaks average on the scouting scale, it’s an effective combo working off each other."

Baseball Prospectus had more to say on the young righty, and you can read the full report here ($).

Morris finished the year with a 4.50 ERA overall, which included a mid-season trade and two late-season appearances in Triple-A because the Las Vegas Aviators needed a fresh arm. That said, he was definitely getting better results prior to the deal, holding a 3.63 ERA in A Ball and a 3.43 ERA in High-A in the Mets system over nearly 100 innings.

His strikeout rate was also much higher at each of those stops, sitting at 25.5% and 23.3% with the Mets, and dropping to 14.2% across 38 innings with the Lansing Lugnuts in the A's system. On the bright side, his walk rate has been stellar in the lower minors, consistently sitting between 6.5-7.5% last season at both stops with New York and Lansing.

The "kitchen sink guy" is a pitcher that the A's have had success with over the years. Chris Bassitt and Paul Blackburn are two righties that come to mind that fit that profile, with Bassitt's game in particular being to limit hard contact. If a pitcher can do that throughout the minors and into the pros, they're likely to have a good career.

BP also offered a little insight into what they're looking for from him moving forward: "Morris’s K-rate dipped after the deadline deal, and while he’s never going to be a pitcher who blows guys away, contact suppression only gets you so far (the upper minors) before you need to find a swing-and-miss option."

Finding that swing-and-miss option will be at the top of the list for Morris and the A's over the next year or two as he continues to climb the ladder towards the big leagues.