Mets farmhand Akeel Morris is someone you should keep a lookout for. After a rocky season at Kingsport where he went 0-6 and posted a 7.98 ERA in 38.1 innings, the 2010 10th round pick rebounded extremely well and was lights-out in 2013 and again in 2014.
By lights out, of course, I mean absolutely dominant. In 2013, pitching for the Short Season Brooklyn Cyclones, he went 4-1 while posting a 1.00 ERA. In 45 innings he allowed just 29 hits and struck out 60 batters. He started 3 games before he was moved to the bullpen, where he was extremely effective, finishing 7 games and saving one.
As impressive as the 1.00 ERA and the 12 K/9 are, his 2014 season was worlds better. He pitched for Single-A Savannah, and once again went 4-1. However, this time around, he posted an inhuman 0.63 ERA. In 57 innings, he allowed a mere 19 hits and struck out 89. He walked 22 batters, which brings his WHIP to a minuscule 0.719. This season, he didn’t start any games, coming in from the ‘pen exclusively in 41 games. He finished 28 of them and saved 16.
With all of these huge power arms we’ve been hearing so much about, such as Syndergaard, Montero, and Matz among others, it’s easy for some to get lost in the fray. We have a surplus of young potential closers on the team; Mejia, Parnell, Black, and Familia, but there is another one waiting in the wings. Morris is already on the 40-man roster as a 22-year old, and if he can continue to be this dominant, it shouldn’t be long until we see him pitching at Citi Field.
