Road to The Show™: A’s Morales

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at third-ranked A’s prospect Luis Morales. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

After an aggressive debut last year, Luis Morales moved at a more deliberate pace in 2024.

The A’s No. 3 prospect played for four clubs at three levels in 2023 but stayed with High-A Lansing for his entire first full season this summer. In 22 Lugnuts starts, Morales posted a 4.22 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 81 innings while holding opposing batters to a .237 average.

The 6-foot-3, 190 pound righty has a whip-like delivery that produces a lively 94-98 mph fastball. He pairs the heater with a developing slider and changeup. He shelved his curveball this year at the organization’s behest to focus on commanding his other three pitches. Scouts believe there’s still work to be done -- mostly cleaning up his mechanics and history of control problems -- for Morales to have a convincing future as a starter.

Morales’ walk rate climbed to 10.7 percent in 2024 from 8.3 percent across four levels in 2023.

The club, however, has expressed confidence in his ability to sort out those issues and stay in the rotation.

“He oozes projection and a high ceiling. The future is bright for Luis,” A’s assistant general manager and director of player personnel Billy Owens told MLB.com in July. “Every outing, Morales flirts with triple-digit heaters. His fastball contains significant ride, carry and life. He tunnels his advanced changeup with it, and his slider displays tilt, shape and is developing swing-and-miss traits. He’s fun to watch.”

The native of Antilla, Cuba, recorded a 0.99 ERA with a league-leading 95 punchouts in 63⅓ innings as a 16-year-old in Cuba’s 18U national league in 2019. He was even better the following year, again topping the circuit with 135 strikeouts while posting a 0.87 ERA in 82 ⅔ innings.

That winter, he was one of the youngest pitchers in the National Series, the island’s top league. In 42⅓ innings for Sancti Spiritus, he sported a 5.95 ERA with 58 strikeouts and 30 walks.

Morales defected while in Mexico with the Cuban National U23 team in 2021. He stayed to train with former Cuban National team pitcher and Olympian Maels Rodríguez, who made a name for himself with his 100 mph fastball.

The A’s saw Morales pitch at showcases in Mexico, where his fastball reached as high as 99 mph.

The 20-year-old was older than the top players on the international market. But he was still the consensus top pitcher and ranked No. 5 overall on MLB Pipeline’s International Top 50, which contained just six pitchers and three Cubans.

The Athletics devoted nearly half of their bonus pool to Morales, signing him to a $3 million deal -- the largest bonus of the class for a pitcher.

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Although it hadn’t been planned, Morales forced his way up the ladder in his first Minor League season. He made just four appearances in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League before being brought stateside, and he was promoted to Single-A Stockton after three starts in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Over seven starts in Rookie ball, Morales compiled a 3.15 ERA with 27 punchouts in 20 innings.

He made seven more starts in full-season ball, including five for Stockton before advancing to Lansing. Over that span, he posted a 2.63 ERA with 26 punchouts in 24 innings and was shut down in September with arm soreness.

Morales reportedly added 10 pounds of muscle that winter but dealt with injury again, this time in his right shoulder, and was sidelined at the start of the regular season. He debuted on April 30 and was limited upon his return, working as part of a 10-man rotation at Lansing, where starters piggyback each other every week.

Morales was the A’s lone representative in the Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He recorded two outs, both via strikeout, walked a batter and plunked another.

By season’s end, he recorded more than 13 outs in just two appearances, and his longest outing of the season was a six-inning, 72-pitch scoreless gem in August.

The A’s don’t have a lot to show for their recent bullishness on the international market -- an area in which small-market teams really must capitalize. But Morales has the opportunity to break out as an international signing success story.