Drafted in the 15th round (443rd overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.
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Organization Prospect Rankings
Morris was one of the biggest surprises to emerge from Baltimore's 2001 draft class, signing for $2,500 and holding his own after an emergency promotion to high Class A. He pitched well enough there to earn a spot in the rotation and stick there for the remainder of the summer. He also was impressive in instructional league. Thanks to his 92-95 mph fastball-- which picked up velocity from the spring, when he helped lead Dallas Baptist to the NAIA World Series--and good curveball, he had only one bad start at Frederick and posted impressive strikeout numbers. His changeup also is a potentially above-average pitch. As he showed when he got thrown into the deep end in high Class A, Morris is a competitor with good mound presence and an understanding of how to pitch. He still needs to sharpen his command and get more consistent with his complementary pitches. But the Orioles see no reason not to send him to Frederick to start 2002.
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