Friday, August 8, 2008 | By Alex Eisenberg

Helium Watch: Scouting Twins Prospect Angel Morales

Lost in the shuffle of raw, toolsy outfield prospects that are scattered throughout the Minnesota Twin organization is Angel Morales. This article will look at his numbers, his swing, and his future going forward.

Background

Morales, now 18, was a third round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2007 out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. After playing in the Gulf Coast League in 2007, Morales is now playing for the Twins' Rookie-ball affiliate in Elizabethton.

Body Type/Athleticism

Very projectable body, very athletic. Morales' arm is considered plus and the same can be said about his speed. He should be able to put on some weight without losing much speed or athleticism.

By the Numbers

Morales is an enigma. His first season of professional baseball was solid, but unspectacular. He hit for a moderately low average (.256), but flashed pretty good power for a player with a ton of projection left in his body (.149 ISO-power). Morales also walked in 8.6% his plate appearances, which is OK, but not ideal.

Of course, his walk percentage was accompanied by a K% of 30.8, which is terrible--to put it bluntly. The K% was the clear anchor on his batting average as Morales put up a .387 BABIP. This is an indicator that when the ball was put into play, it was usually hit hard.

Fast forward to this year...

Morales has improved his OPS from .762 to 1.036. The difference comes solely from batting average and an increase in power production. The ISO-power, through 151 PAs this season, has jumped to .286. His high BABIP from 2007 has increased to an insane level this year at .471. This is not sustainable, but it still demonstrates Morales has an ability to hit the ball with authority.

Interestingly enough, the poor plate discipline and the extremely high K% remain virtually unchanged.

We'll take a look at what these numbers mean for his future and if this is a fluke or not in a moment. But first I want to break down his swing...

The Swing

Angel-Morales-Practice Angel Morales

A lot of scouts questioned the worth of Morales' bat just before the draft. However, I saw a hitter that had the components of a powerful swing. I said the same thing about Aaron Hicks. Issues need to be worked out, but the components are there for the player to work with. Combined with the overall athleticism Morales possesses, making the necessary adjustments should come easier for him.

One thing that should be pointed out--do you see how Morales twists his knee just before toe touch? By twisting his knee that way, Morales then enables his hip rotation somewhat early. He needs to find a way to stride forward and plant without opening his hips too soon. This is especially noticeable in his game swing.

By looking at a few of his swings from the 2007 season, Morales doesn't appear to twist his knee open nearly as much as he did in Puerto Rico, so that may have been an adjustment made by the Twin organization to prevent his hips from flying open. However, I haven't seen enough video to say this with certainty.

Angel-Morales-Swing

While his swing can get somewhat longish, Morales generates excellent bat speed and when he keeps his hips closed, he's able to turn his hips and hands together, while letting the ball travel deep into his hitting zone to generate plus power. A player letting the ball travel deep into his hitting zone is a good indication of the bat speed a player has.

If you go back to the first two clips, you'll notice Morales lets his hands get out in front a little more than he does in his batting practice swing. You want to keep the hands back and wait as long as possible before making the commitment to swing. By staying back, Morales will give himself just a bit more time to judge the type and spin of the pitch thrown.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down video of his 2008 swing yet. I'll be very interested to see what further adjustments have been made by Morales since last year.

Is Morales for Real?

I'm still not sure yet, to be honest. I know the talent is there, but I also see a couple of red flags--one being the K%, while the other involves his teammates. By this I mean if you look at the Elizabethton roster, you'll notice a number of players putting up very big numbers, which may mean the park in which Elizabethton plays in and the Appalachian League as a whole is conducive to hitters putting up big numbers.

I still think Morales has some questions to answer, but I love his upside. The great thing for Morales is as a plus defensive center fielder, he won't need his bat to carry him.

Prospect Grade

8.5 Upside, Low-Very Low Probability
5 Mid-Level, Low-Average Probability
4 Downside, Low Probability

*For an explanation of my grading system, click here