Yohandy Morales is a power-hitting, third-base prospect. Morales has proven his worth with a powerful bat and a strong arm to match. Though ranked as one of the top 200 baseball prospects from the state of Florida, Morales was not drafted in the 2020 MLB Draft. He chose to attend the University of Miami (FL). In his three seasons in Coral Gables, Morales batted an impressive .340, with 237 hits, including 43 doubles, six triples, and 49 home runs.
Morales is projected as the 17th-best overall prospect in the 2023 MLB draft. While player rankings rarely correlate to what pick the player will be chosen with, the Baltimore Orioles have the 17th pick in the draft. An interesting note, Morales is the fifth-best Florida-affiliated prospect (High School or College), in next month’s draft. Morales is hoping to achieve, not only for himself but for his family as well, the dream of reaching the Major Leagues. His father Andy had reached the minor leagues, after having defected from the Cuban National Baseball team, in 2000.
Yohandy Morales Draft Profile
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
Strengths
Morales can hit the ball to all fields, a skill that will intrigue many scouts, as it is a skill rarely seen in the Majors today. Major League teams will also see a more-than-capable defender. In the 63 regular season games the University of Miami played in 2023, Morales only committed a total of five errors on the season. Morales originally played as a shortstop, but as his arm got stronger, he moved to the hot corner. While playing with the USA Collegiate National team, in a tournament, in 2022, Morales batted .400 in seven games, leading the US squad. He had eight hits, including a home run, and four RBI. Morales was just one of three players in the entire tournament to hit a home run, helping the US win a bronze medal.
Weaknesses
Morales is a “power before contact”, hitter. However, he has improved his contact ability after refining the mechanics of his swing. This improvement is clearly exemplified by Morales’ year-by-year increase in hits, and batting average, in his three seasons with the Hurricanes. At this point, there is not much about Morales’ game that needs improvement. How his game transitions to professional baseball will be interesting to see.
MLB Comparison
Morales is comparable, physically, to Atlanta Braves third baseman, Austin Riley. Riley is an inch shorter than Morales at 6′-3″, and about 15 pounds heavier (240 pounds). Riley was a late first-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft (41st). Morales looks as though he may provide as much if not more power than Riley. In five seasons with Atlanta, Riley has hit 108 home runs, including a career-high of 38 in 2022. Riley has a career batting average of .271. Morales has the potential to do the same, though his history of prioritizing power before contact could see him be slightly below the .270, mark. If Morales were to join the Major Leagues, at this moment, he would be among, if not the tallest third baseman, at 6’4, which could one day see him moving to first base, which is a common occurrence in Major League Baseball.
Photo Credit: © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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