New York Mets Akeel Morris jumps from FSL All Star to MLB
By Wayne Cavadi
Florida State League All Star and New York Mets No. 19 prospect Akeel Morris is heading to Queens.
RHP Akeel Morris is on his way to New York and is expected to be activated tomorrow. Morris has 13 saves and a 1.69 ERA with St. Lucie.
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 14, 2015
Morris is making the jump to the Mets roster from High-A ball. That’s quite a leap for a prospect that wasn’t on many people’s radars heading into 2015.
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The 22-year old righty was drafted by the Mets in the 10th round of the 2010 draft. Morris struggled as a starter early in his career, but at the end of the 2012 season, they gave him a few shots at closing. He has gotten incrementally better each year, which makes it logical that Morris was considered for a promotion. Of course, the proper course of action may have been to Double or Triple A before the Mets, but lo and behold, no matter how short a period he is expected to stay there, he is set to make his big league debut.
Last season, people started to notice Morris a lot more. He took home the Fan’s Choice Award for the best relief pitcher behind a pretty sick season in the South Atlantic League. Morris went 4-1 and 16-for-17 in save opportunites over 41 appearances, all out of the bullpen which marked the first time in his career he did that. He posted an insane 0.63 ERA, a 0.72 WHIP and an opponents’ batting average of .103.
Obviously a season like that merited a promotion, one in which Akeel Morris hasn’t missed a beat. As I already mentioned, Morris is heading to the FSL All Star Game for the host St. Lucie Mets converting 13 of 14 saves with a 1.69 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and a .107 opponents batting average against. He has struck out 46 batters in 32 innings behind his patented mid-90s fastball and 80 mile an hour changeup that simply fools batters and keeps them on edge.
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Morris’ stay in New York will most likely not be for too long, but it is certainly a big move by the Mets. Their bullpen is taxed and the starters need some extra days rest from the 6-man rotation experiment. The Mets have 7 games over the next 7 days, so there is a very strong possibility that Morris sees some action. The need for a reliever was apparent, and Morris reportedly got the call over Vic Black who is struggling with a minor injury.
Don’t count out Morris sticking around the big leagues, either. This is a year in which unexpected rookies have made impacts well before they were expected to do so. Even the Mets bullpen has gotten stronger from the outstanding performance of Jeurys Familia, who I guarantee no one pegged to be 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 19-for-20 in save opportunites. Should Morris excel at the level he has in the minors, the Mets bullpen suddenly becomes very scary with the return of Bobby Parnell and stellar seasons from Alex Torres and Sean Gilmartin.
Next: Houston Astros Derek Fisher Highlights High-A CWS Stars