When David Morgan was profiled in final 12 months’s rankings of the San Diego Padres’ high prospects, it was identified that the 26-year-old right-hander had joined the group as a non-drafted free agent in 2022. Furthermore, he’d barely taken the mound. A two-way participant at Hope Worldwide College — an NAIA college in Fullerton, California — Morgan had thrown simply nine-and-a-third innings. On the time he signed, he was taking part in for the Portland Pickles in the summertime collegiate West Coast League (for which Rob Neyer is the commissioner).
Morgan’s backstory units him aside him from his MLB brethren, however what about from a pitch-specific standpoint? Are there any differentiating traits?
“My means to choose stuff up and type of run with it’s in all probability probably the most distinctive factor about me,” stated Morgan, who made his big-league debut final Might and has since logged a 3.41 ERA and a 4.15 FIP over 52 appearances comprising 60-and-two-thirds frames. “Final 12 months, once I needed to throw a sinker, it wasn’t actually a studying course of. It was in-between innings. I got here into the dugout, grabbed a brand new grip, and threw it the following inning.”
The outing, his sixth within the majors, got here on June 10 with the Padres holding a commanding late-inning lead towards the Los Angeles Dodgers. When Morgan returned to the dugout after working the eighth, pitching coach Ruben Niebla pulled him apart and requested if he’d ever thrown a sinker. The reply was sure and no. Morgan had toyed round with one, however that was about it.
With the sport not unsure — San Diego led 11-1 — Niebla “gave [him] a grip and stated to exit and throw it subsequent inning.” Morgan did, the pitch “danced round somewhat bit,” and the remaining is historical past. By season’s finish, he’d thrown his sinker at a 21.5% clip, and this 12 months the utilization is as much as 34.7%.
“It’s fairly straight up,” Morgan stated of the grip. “I’m down the center of these two seams, holding that one seam on the center finger and simply type of releasing it off of that. It holds its axis fairly effectively. Those I had tinkered with the previous had been extra of a seam-shift, type of attempting to chop it. That was the unique grip I attempted — a supination grip — however I ended up realizing that I used to be principally throwing a four-seamer with a unique grip.
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“I’d thrown one in a few bullpens in the course of the Fall League in 2024,” the righty elaborated on the sooner experimentation. “I received a pitch grip from Leo Rosales, who’s a pitching coach in our group. I threw a couple of of them in video games, however I don’t suppose any had been within the zone, so I made a decision the pitch wasn’t going to work for me. Now it’s a pitch that does work for me.”
As is true for many anybody who takes the mound, not the whole lot works as meant each time. After a robust begin to the season — seven appearances with only one run (unearned) allowed over 10-and-a-third innings — Morgan hit a tough patch, getting banged round in 4 straight outings. In an effort get him again on observe, the Padres despatched the Mission Viejo native to Triple-A El Paso earlier this week.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Larry Bowa went 6 for 11 towards Mike Corkins.
Pee Wee Reese went 6 for 8 towards Corky Valentine.
Corky Miller went 2 for two towards Bartolo Colon.
Bobby Wine went 11 for 23 towards Hal Woodeshick.
Ralph Winegarner went 2 for five towards Pink Ruffing.
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Matt Vierling had a strong spring coaching. The Detroit Tigers outfielder/third baseman logged a team-best 14 hits, eight of them for further bases, whereas placing up a 125 wRC+. He hasn’t fared practically as effectively within the common season. With the calendar now turned to Might, Vierling is slashing a comparably lackluster .212/.270/.348 with one residence run and a 68 wRC+.
It’s usually stated that spring coaching numbers don’t matter, and with that in thoughts, I requested Vierling for his opinion. Is what occurred within the Grapefruit or Cactus League utterly solid apart come Opening Day, or are gamers mindfully conscious of what they skilled within the month of March?
“Spring coaching issues, for positive,” stated Vierling, whom I’d hoped to speak to on my mid-March Florida journey, however didn’t get a possibility to take action till the Tigers visited Fenway Park a couple of weeks in the past. “I believe when you have a foul spring when it comes to numbers, or your swing doesn’t really feel proper… I’ve seen guys who’ve struggled in spring, after which one thing clicks on the very finish. That’s an ideal [scenario], as a result of they’re going into the season feeling good. After which you have got guys who hit very well within the spring, however type of lose that feeling towards the top. They stroll into the season type of misplaced. So, I do suppose spring coaching issues, not statistically, however the way you’re feeling.”
How did the veteran of six MLB seasons really feel this time round?
“I had a type of springs the place I felt actually good, however then slowed down somewhat bit,” he instructed me. “After which the season brings an entire new set of challenges. You’re on the market actually attempting to win video games. It issues, so there’s a mindset change.”
A mindset change that features stress to carry out…
“It could actually in the event you let it,” Vierling replied. “You may’t let it, however subconsciously it does. It has an impact, for positive.”
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A pair of 2026 spring training-regular season stat comps to chew on
Cincinnati’s Matt McLain went 27-for-53 with a 1.540 OPS within the spring. He’s 24-for-120 with a .614 OPS within the common season.
Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell went 3-for-37 with a .407 OPS within the spring. He’s 21-for-88 with a .749 OPS within the common season.
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Spring coaching additionally got here up once I talked to Nathan Lukes previous to the beginning of the common season.
“As athletes, we all the time wish to get higher,” stated the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder, who led Sunday Notes one week in the past. “It’s humorous listening to folks complain when guys aren’t hitting in spring coaching, yada yada. We spend the offseason attempting to get higher. We’re consistently looking for various things to modify, or change, to enhance — and we don’t know if these issues are going to work till spring coaching. When spring coaching rolls round, generally guys wrestle, as a result of the issues they labored on aren’t clicking. Then it’s about looking for one thing else to click on.”
For Lukes, this previous offseason’s experiment proved ineffective.
“I attempted reducing my palms, in my stance,” he defined. “I used to be looking for that aggressive edge, and I believed that was going to make me faster to the ball. As an alternative, it made it in order that I couldn’t actually hit the ball. [The adjustment] was additionally presupposed to make me somewhat extra relaxed, however that wasn’t the case once I stepped within the field. It made me extra tense once I had a pitcher on the mound. There’s plenty of trial and error if you’re on this occupation.”
Lukes went 12-for-36 on the spring. He started the common season 13-for-52 earlier than touchdown on the IL with a hamstring pressure on April 25.
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A quiz:
The final time a participant had 20 or extra triples in a single season was 2007, when that quantity was reached in each the American and Nationwide Leagues. Which two batters recorded a minimum of 20 three-baggers that 12 months? (A touch: additionally they had 20 or extra residence runs.)
The reply could be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
Corky Withrow, an outfielder who went hitless in 9 at-bats whereas showing in six video games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963, died on April 22 at age 88. A local of Excessive Coal, West Virginia, Withrow hit for energy down on the farm, slugging 211 residence runs, 34 of them with the Texas League’s Austin Senators in 1962. He was drafted by the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers in 1959, however didn’t play basketball professionally.
SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee can be internet hosting a digital occasion with Tuffy Rhodes on Thursday Might 7 at 8:30. Recognized stateside for homering 3 times for the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day 1994, Rhodes went on to turn out to be some of the prolific residence run hitters in Japanese baseball historical past. You may register for the occasion right here.
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The reply to the quiz is Curtis Granderson, who legged out 23 triples with the Detroit Tigers, and Jimmy Rollins, who had 20 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Left on the cutting-room flooring from my current dialog with Travis Bazzana was his response to my asking if he was a giant fan of the ABL rising up.
“Oh, yeah,” replied the Australian-born Cleveland Guardians infielder, who made his MLB debut on Tuesday. “My dad and I’d go to perhaps two video games every week, in Sydney. Then, from age 15 by means of 17, I used to be on the [Sydney Blue Sox] growth roster, so I received to coach with the staff. I had restricted at-bats, in all probability had 40 in three years, however being round knowledgeable clubhouse earlier than I received to varsity was massive growth for me.”
The standard of play in his homeland’s high league?
“The ABL is type of like a wildcard, since you get various things on totally different nights” stated Bazzana, echoing what Staff Australia and former MLB catcher Dave Nilsson instructed me this previous winter. “One night time you may be seeing a 16-year-old child from Australia throwing 88 [mph], and one other night time you may be seeing a Excessive-A prospect with the Rays throwing 96, however nonetheless studying find out how to command it. You is also going through somebody who’s 35 and performed skilled baseball for 10 years. There’s such a wide selection of gamers.
“[Comparatively], Japan and Korea have very regular depth,” added Bazzana. “There are plenty of good baseball gamers who do fundamentals very well. They’re not going to beat themselves. In Australia, it’s such as you’re choosing from a jar. You don’t know what you’re going to get on any given night time.”
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
NPB umpire Takuto Kawakami, who was struck on the facet of the top by a bat throughout an April 16 sport, has reportedly been moved out of an ICU unit, though he has but to regain consciousness. The damage occurred when a Tokyo Yakult Swallows participant had the bat slip out of his palms whereas swinging and lacking.
Teruaki Sato is slashing .405/.465/.784 with eight residence runs and a 257 wRC+ over 127 plate appearances for the Hanshin Tigers. The 27-year-old, left-handed-hitting third baseman/outfielder homered 40 occasions with a 182 wRC+ a 12 months in the past. He’s reportedly in line to be posted on the conclusion of the NPB season.
Seong-han Park is slashing .436/.533/.627 with three residence runs and a 218 wRC+ over 137 plate appearances with the KBO’s SSG Landers. The 26-year-old, left-handed-hitting shortstop had seven residence runs and a 114 wRC+ a 12 months in the past.
Marcelo Martinez has thrown 17-and-a-third scoreless innings over three begins for the Chinese language Skilled Baseball League’s Wei Chuan Dragons. A local of Reynosa, Mexico, the 29-year-old southpaw pitched within the Kansas Metropolis Royals system from 2018-2023, and for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys in 2024-2025.
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Bob Watson was a productive hitter earlier than happening to turn out to be the final supervisor of each the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, and later a vice chairman of Main League Baseball. A primary baseman/outfielder who performed from 1966-1984, largely with Houston, Watson twice drove in over 100 runs, and completed his profession with 184 residence runs and a pair of All-Star berths.
In a current dialog with one in every of his former Astros teammates, I opined that plenty of followers, significantly within the present era, in all probability aren’t all that conversant in Watson.
“That’s as a result of he performed in Houston,’ stated Joe Sambito, a southpaw whose reminiscences of J.R. Richard had been featured right here in Sunday Notes a couple of weeks in the past. “No person actually knew the Astros. We performed in anonymity. However Bob Watson was a frontrunner. From the very first time I walked into spring coaching, everybody knew that Bob Watson was in cost. He didn’t have pace, and he didn’t have the house run numbers as a result of we performed within the Astrodome, however he might hit. His means was compromised by the place we performed.”
From 1972-1978, Watson averaged 16 residence runs and 89 RBIs whereas slashing .305/.375/.461 with a 137 wRC+ whereas carrying an Astros uniform. Over his 19-year profession, he homered 184 occasions with a .295/.364/.447 slash line and a 128 wRC+. Jay Jaffe wrote a remembrance when the erstwhile slugger died in 2020.
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FARM NOTES
Caleb Bonemer is slashing .286/.405/.736 with 11 residence runs and a 188 wRC+ over 111 plate appearances for the Excessive-A Winston-Salem Sprint. A second-round in 2024 out of Okemos (MI) Excessive College, the 20-year-old shortstop/third baseman within the Chicago White Sox system is No. 33 on our Prime 100.
Seth Hernandez has 41 strikeouts and has allowed simply 10 hits and three runs in 22 innings for the Low-A Bradenton Marauders. Drafted sixth general final 12 months out of Corona (CA) Excessive College, the 19-year-old right-hander within the Pittsburgh Pirates system is No. 45 on our Prime 100.
Anthony Eyanson has 34 strikeouts and simply three walks over 20-and-a-third innings for the Excessive-A Greenville Drive. A 3rd-round choose final 12 months out of LSU, the 21-year-old right-hander within the Boston Pink Sox system has surrendered seven hits and one run.
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Low-A , Twins) demolished the Daytona Tortugas (Reds) on Thursday by a depend of 24-8. Bruin Agbayani, a 19-year-old shortstop whom Minnesota chosen within the sixth spherical of final 12 months’s draft out of a Honolulu highschool, went 4-for-6 with 5 runs scored. His father, Benny Agbayani, performed for 3 MLB groups, primarily the New York Mets, from 1998-2002.
On Wednesday, the Visalia Rawhide (Low-A, Diamondbacks) scored six runs within the backside of the ninth inning to beat the San Jose Giants (San Francisco) by a rating of 9-8. The rally, which started with two walks and a pair of HBPs, was capped by a two-out, three-run homer by 20-year-old catcher Carlos Virahonda.
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A random obscure former participant snapshot:
Jack Spring was half of what’s in all probability one of the best commerce in St. Louis Cardinals historical past. A southpaw from Spokane, Washington who pitched for seven MLB groups throughout the 1955-1965 seasons, Spring was one in every of six gamers concerned within the June 1964 deal that despatched Lou Brock to St. Louis and Ernie Broglio to the Chicago Cubs. His tenure with each golf equipment was transient and inside that very same season. In a profession that included 155 appearances and a 12-5 won-lost file, Spring was sans a choice whereas hurling a mixed 9 frames for the NL rivals.
Spring spent a number of years within the Pacific Coast League, toeing the rubber for groups such because the San Francisco Seals and Portland Beavers. He later managed within the Northwest League. In 1972, Spring was on the helm of the Walla Walla Rainbows, a California Angels affiliate whose roster included Kurt Russell, a second baseman higher identified for having starred in quite a few movies.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Again after they had been struggling to make ends meet within the minors, some Washington Nationals gamers had offseason jobs that included hanging drywall, digging trenches, and capturing coyotes. Spencer Nusbaum wrote about it at The Athletic.
Franklin D. Roosevelt held his last rally at Fenway Park a couple of days earlier than profitable the 1944 presidential election. Christopher Chavis wrote about it at Baseball and Us.
Followers holding rating on the ballpark has seen a resurgence in recent times. Jacob Feldman has the story at Sportico.
Pitcher Checklist’s Jack Foley wrote about how there are two variations of Pink Sox southpaw Connelly Early, one who assaults left-handed hitters, and one who assaults right-handed hitters.
Cincinnati Reds pitchers tied an MLB file yesterday by strolling seven consecutive batters. Mike Axisa has the story at CBS Sports activities.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Houston Astros pitchers have walked 183 batters, probably the most within the majors. Seattle Mariners pitchers have walked 82 batters, the fewest within the majors. Astros and Mariners pitchers went into the weekend tied for probably the most HBPs, with 21 every (the Astros now have 22).
Boston Pink Sox southpaw Ranger Suarez had 78 strikeouts and one stroll over 80-and-two-thirds innings pitching within the Venezuelan Summer season League in 2014.
Pink Sox left-handers have mixed to throw 166-and-a-third innings this season, probably the most of any staff. Conversely. Pink Sox right-handers have mixed to throw 123 innings, the fewest of any staff. They’re the one MLB membership with extra lefty innings than proper innings.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes is 5-0 with a 0.53 ERA in six profession begins towards the Cincinnati Reds. He’s 0-5 with a 2.95 ERA in seven profession begins towards the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Chicago White Sox (38), Seattle Mariners (38), and St. Louis Cardinals (43) have hit the fewest triples for the reason that begin of the 2023 season. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll has hit 45 triples for the reason that begin of the 2023 season.
On in the present day’s date in 1998, the Cleveland Indians scored 5 runs after two had been out within the ninth inning to beat the Tampa Bay Satan Rays 10-8. Sandy Alomar Jr. walked it off with a three-run homer off of Roberto Hernandez.
On in the present day’s date in 1930, the Brooklyn Robins scored 5 occasions within the high of the tenth inning, then held on for a 11-10 win over the St.Louis Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park. Johnny Frederick had a five-hit sport for the profitable facet.
On in the present day’s date in 1912, the New York Highlanders tallied 10 runs within the high of the ninth inning, solely to have their rally fall quick in an 18-15 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics. Corridor of Fame left-hander Eddie Plank, who logged 326 profession wins, got here out of the bullpen to file the ultimate two outs.
Gamers born on in the present day’s date embody Joe Kmak, a catcher who performed in 51 video games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993, and in 19 video games for the Chicago Cubs in 1995. A local of Napa, California, Kmak counts one residence run amongst his 37 base knocks, having taken Tyler Inexperienced deep in an 8-7 Cubs conquest of the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Discipline.
Additionally born on in the present day’s date was Dan Bankhead, who on August 26, 1947 grew to become the primary African American pitcher in MLB historical past when he took the mound for the Brooklyn Dodgers in a sport towards the Pittsburgh Pirates. A right-hander from Empire, Alabama who’d beforehand performed for the Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Pink Sox, Bankhead pitched poorly that day, though he did take Fritz Ostermueller deep in his first ever at-bat. All instructed, Bankhead went 26-10 with a 4.56 ERA over components of three MLB seasons.