Another Twins pitching prospect is dominating the minors

Andrew Morris, a 22-year-old New Yorker, is making headlines.

Pitcher Andrew Morris tosses the ball to warm up during a Fort Myers Mighty Mussels practice at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Fnp Jh 20230404 Musselsmediaday 0005 / Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News / USA TODAY NETWORK

How many teams have more than one pitcher in MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospects? Well, 26 of the 100 players in the Pipeline rankings are pitchers and only seven teams can boast having more than one, including the Minnesota Twins.

The Marlins and Pirates each have three pitchers in the top 100 while the Braves, Cardinals, Giants, Phillies and Twins each have two. For the Twins, the top two pitchers in the farm system are right-handers David Festa and Zebby Matthews — but another name is making his case to enter the conversation: Andrew Morris.

Morris is ranked by Pipeline as Minnesota's 18th-best prospect. While the Pipeline rankings could probably use an update, Morris is currently ranked as the No. 8 pitcher in the Twins' system, though his numbers say he should be much higher.

The 22-year-old New Yorker who was drafted in the fourth round out of Texas Tech in 2022 started the 2024 season at Class A+ Cedar Rapids where in seven starts he posted a 2.15 ERA while striking out 43 batters and walking only seven in 37.2 innings.

In 12 appearances, including 10 starts, since being promoted to Class AA Wichita, Morris owns as 1.90 ERA with 63 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 61.2 innings. In his latest start Wednesday, Morris struck out nine and allowed just two hits in seven innings — and he did it with only 79 pitches.

Between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, Morris has struck out 26.2% of the batters he's faced. That couples nicely with a 5.2% walk rate. His strikeout numbers are as impressive as Matthews' were before his promotion to Triple-A, but the K/BB ratio is impressive enough through a solid enough sample size to think that Morris could find himself pitching in St. Paul in the near future.

Festa is already up with the Twins while Matthews was recently promoted to Triple-A St. Paul. Both figure to be strong options for Minnesota's 2025 starting rotation, with Festa perhaps playing a key role down the stretch and in the playoffs this summer.