February 12, 2009

Top 50 Twins Prospects 2009: #6 Angel Morales

2009 Top 50 Twins Prospects | #6 | Angel Morales

Position | Outfield

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born
| November 24, 1989 (Caguas, Puerto Rico)

School
| Puerto Rico Baseball Academy

Height
| 6'1''

Weight
| 180 lbs.

2008 Ranking
| 45




Breakdown
The Twins drafted Angel Morales in the second round of the 2007 draft. After selecting a light-hitting outfielder in the first round, many weren't too enthused with drafting Morales in the second round after some reports claimed he had "well below-average power" as well. 2008 really shushed many of those doubters after he hit 15 home runs in just 218 plate appearances as an 18-year-old in the Appalachian League. He is now in the same group as Evan Bigley and Chris Parmelee as guys with the most raw power potential in the system. Morales is a potential 5-tool player who is not only a masher at the plate, but also a stout defender as well. Morales was considered by many to be one of the best draftees to come out of Puerto Rico since Carlos Beltran was drafted in 1995. Morales brings a lot of the same things to the plate as Beltran does. Both are incredibly quick with quite a bit of power despite having a slimmer body frame. Comparing an 18-year-old who hasn't played above Rookie Ball to an All-Star at the Major League level is probably putting too much pressure on a player, but it's hard to not see some of the comparisons. One thing that is certainly a reason to be optimistic is that Beltran never displayed much power until he was already 20-years-old while Morales has shown it at 18-years-old. The sky's the limit for Morales, the Twins just need to hope that he can work on his eye-at-the-plate, but I'm sure it'll get better with age.

2008 Statistics
Level      G     PA     AVG     OBP     SLG     XBH     HR    ISO
R         54    218    .301    .413    .623      28     15   .322

2009 Outlook

Morales is a standout defender and a great hitter, there's no reason he shouldn't be in Beloit in 2009.

Video


Estimated Time of Arrival
2012

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