Indians Top 100 Prospects: #39 Ryan Morris

39. Ryan Morris - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 01/10/1988 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 175 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2006	18	Burlington	R	0	0	18.00	1	0	0	1.0	2	2	0	1	1	5.4	5.4	1.81
	18	GCL Indians	R	1	5	4.61	8	8	0	27.1	27	14	2	12	21	4.0	6.9	1.43
2007	19	GCL Indians	R	3	0	1.80	5	5	0	25.0	13	5	0	8	22	2.9	7.9	0.84
	19	Lake County	A	0	2	5.22	9	9	0	39.2	31	23	2	23	31	5.2	7.0	1.36
2008	20	Lake County	A	9	7	3.76	27	27	0	134.0	116	56	6	57	101	3.8	6.8	1.29
		Career		13	14	3.96	50	49	0	227.0	189	100	10	102	175	4.0	7.0	1.28

History: Morris was a 4th round pick in the 2006 Draft out of South Mecklenburg High School (NC).

Strengths & Opportunities: Morris is more of a pitch-to-contact pitcher and is what many would call a crafty lefty because he relies on hitting his spots and getting hitters to roll over on balls and putting them in play. He features a four-seam fastball that consistently clocks in at 87-91 MPH, is a strike thrower, and sinks the ball well pitching to the bottom of the zone. He also throws a slurvy breaking ball and changeup, with his changeup being the better of the two secondary pitches at this time. He likes to use his fastball to get ahead in the count and then work the corners with his changeup and breaking ball. At 6'3" 175 pounds, he has a projectable body where as he matures and fills out he should also get stronger and add a little more velocity to his fastball. He is a fierce competitor on the mound, creates very good deception in his delivery and does a good job pitching away to left-handed batters and especially right-handed batters. At 20 years of age has displayed outstanding makeup, and held his own in the South Atlantic League where he was about two years under the league average age.

The development of at least one quality secondary pitch will be a key for Morris as he moves up the minor league ladder. His 12-6 curveball is on its way to being a good pitch for him and has shown good tilt and has a lot of separation from his fastball; however, the Indians feel it has such top to bottom movement that as he moves up to higher levels more disciplined hitters will lay off it as it is often a strikeout pitch he relies on throwing in the dirt. He also needs a change to give him a breaking pitch that he can get across for strikes more consistently, so last year the Indians had him start learning how to throw a more slurvy breaking ball.

Last season Morris did a good job keeping the ball down and using his changeup to setup his fastball. The Indians also worked with him on his arm slot to make sure he maintains a consistent arm slot with his pitches by making sure he leads with his hips since he has a tendency to coil his body around. He has a violent delivery where as he goes through his windup and cocks his arm back behind his head he quickly jerks and whips the ball to home plate by throwing across his body. It is a pitching style that requires sound mechanics and constant attention by the coaching staff to ensure Morris' arm slot remains consistent, which could lead to command or injury issues down the road. In addition, he needs to continue working on refining his control and command by learning to throw quality first pitch strikes, finish hitters off, and be more aggressive in getting guys out instead of nibbling.

Outlook: Morris is a solid left-handed pitching prospect in the system. His lack of a true plus pitch or surgeon-like command keeps him down on the prospect list ranking, but he should be a consistent performer in the organization for the next several years and could develop into a backend rotation major league starter. His growth both physically and as a pitcher bears watching the next few seasons, and he should open the 2009 season at advanced Single-A Kinston.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

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