Franklin Morales

[SoxFanForsyth]

what happens to DiceK? BP?

 

Trade, probably. Get about the same return from him as you got from Youk, but eat less salary.

[example1]

No, I'm not saying that.

 

I'm saying it could turn out to be one of his best moves. He just didn't realize it at the time. Whether or not he thought of Morales as a SP or not, who knows, probably not.

 

But, at the same time, he made the move, and it's turning out to be a great acquisition. He traded low-6-figure cash and a PTBNL, which I still don't know who it was, obviously nobody good, for a guy who was ranked as high as the #8 prospect in baseball just a couple years ago.

 

So, he got a young (25 when acquired), very high ceiling guy for nothing. Like I said, he almost certainly saw Morales as a LH specialist out of the bullpen, but regardless, if he comes out and becomes a top of the rotation starter, you look back and say "Wow. We really stole him from the Rox".

 

So, anyone would say "Wow that was a fantastic trade for the Red Sox". I guess you could say it would be one of the better moves made during the Theo era. Would that be better for your Theo-hating heart?

 

Morales could turn into a terrific starter and Miller could become the most dominant lefty reliever in the AL East. Nava could be an all-star and Bradley, Barnes and Kalish could turn out to be amazing, but Theo won't get credit. He merely acquired them when nobody else did.

 

With Morales, Valentine deserves credit for starting him. Tito wouldn't have done that.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Morales could turn into a terrific starter and Miller could become the most dominant lefty reliever in the AL East. Nava could be an all-star and Bradley, Barnes and Kalish could turn out to be amazing, but Theo won't get credit. He merely acquired them when nobody else did.

 

With Morales, Valentine deserves credit for starting him. Tito wouldn't have done that.

 

Excellent, excellent point.

 

And yes. People won't give Theo credit for anything. Morales being with the Red Sox is a credit to Theo. Morales starting right now is a credit to Valentine.

[mvp 78]

Was his value higher or lower before he began to start? It's never going to be top level.

 

The return for Morales would be less than what you're giving up. He doesn't make much $$$. There's no reason to move him unless you just want to turn over the entire 25 man roster for some reason.

[a700hitter]

No, I'm not saying that.

 

I'm saying it could turn out to be one of his best moves. He just didn't realize it at the time. Whether or not he thought of Morales as a SP or not, who knows, probably not.

 

But, at the same time, he made the move, and it's turning out to be a great acquisition. He traded low-6-figure cash and a PTBNL, which I still don't know who it was, obviously nobody good, for a guy who was ranked as high as the #8 prospect in baseball just a couple years ago.

 

So, he got a young (25 when acquired), very high ceiling guy for nothing. Like I said, he almost certainly saw Morales as a LH specialist out of the bullpen, but regardless, if he comes out and becomes a top of the rotation starter, you look back and say "Wow. We really stole him from the Rox".

 

So, anyone would say "Wow that was a fantastic trade for the Red Sox". I guess you could say it would be one of the better moves made during the Theo era. Would that be better for your Theo-hating heart?

That's better. I don't single out Theo. I have a uniform disdain for all FO personnel.

[jung]

I would bet that dice would not be doing much if the Sox made it to the post season other than possibly coming out of the pen. I do not think you would see him start.

[mvp 78]

I would bet that dice would not be doing much if the Sox made it to the post season other than possibly coming out of the pen. I do not think you would see him start.

 

He'd be left off the roster. He has no use whatsoever in the BP.

[SoxFanForsyth]

He'd be left off the roster. He has no use whatsoever in the BP.

 

Yeah. He would need to start warming up in the 3rd inning to pitch in a game that went into extras.

[iortiz]

Excellent, excellent point.

 

And yes. People won't give Theo credit for anything. Morales being with the Red Sox is a credit to Theo. Morales starting right now is a credit to Valentine.

 

This is like the perfect storm if you ask me. Nobody saw this coming. How much is this going to last? Hopefully all season long. We need reliable/solid SPs, badly. Morales has shown what he couldn't show in Colorado. Start.

 

Do not be surprised if Cherington says that this move was planned in the offseason

 

This is V's credit? mmmmm...I tend to think that V didn't have anybody else on the wings at the time when Morales was called up to start and he was the only option; but give him the credit if you want, I won't argue that, the important thing is what Morales is doing on the mound. It's really encouraging given the circumstances.

[SoxFanForsyth]

This is like the perfect storm if you ask me. Nobody saw this coming. How much is this going to last? Hopefully all season long. We need reliable solid SPs. Morales has shown what he couldn't show in Colorado. Start.

 

Do not be surprised if Cherington says that this move was planned in the offseason

 

This is V's credit? mmmmm...I tend to think that V didn't have anybody else on the wings at the time when Morales was called to start and he was the only option; but give him the credit, I won't argue that, the important thing is what Morales is doing on the mound. It's really encouraging given the circumstances.

 

Well he also had Germano, who has posted a 2.60 ERA in Pawtucket over 15 starts so far, and that was actually the player I thought they'd bring up to fill in.

 

Plus, they're actually going with a 6 man rotation now, and Buchholz isn't even back. So they had at least 2 alternatives, although I'm not sure Cook was ready quite yet. Either way - I remember hearing on the radio how V was basically begging Cherington to have Morales start. Turns out, so far at least, V was right.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Great read from Fangraphs.com on Morales, and why what he's been doing as a starter may be for real.

 

Franklin Morales: Back, For The First Time

by Paul Swydan - June 29, 2012

 

When the Red Sox acquired Franklin Morales from the Rockies last season, no one paid much attention. At the time of the deal, he hadn’t pitched in four days, and hadn’t recorded an out in seven. When he began his Red Sox career by allowing four runs in three innings in his first two outings, there was similarly no reason for Red Sox nation to sit up and take notice — he was just another re-tread lefty that the team would have to cycle through now that Hideki Okajima had turned back into a pumpkin. Fast forward one year though, and Morales is catching everyone’s attention, as — for the moment — he is once again impressing as a starter. The difference is that this time, there is reason to believe it’s for real.

 

Last night against the Mariners, Morales put up what was, by game score, tied for the second-best start of 2012 by a Red Sox starter, along with Josh Beckett’s outing on May 15th (coincidentally, or perhaps not, also against Seattle). It was also the best start of his still-young career, by either game score (76) or WPA (.40).

 

Rockies’ fans with long memories will note that we have seen these results before from Morales. In the 2007 stretch run, Morales put together a three-start stretch in September where he was similarly unhittable. Against the Phillies, Marlins and Padres, he threw 17 scoreless innings, allowing just seven hits, and striking out 15 batters against just five walks. He threw 61% of his pitches for strikes. The mastery did not last, however. Morales teetered on the edge of effective and not effective in his last regular-season outing and two postseason outings before getting absolutely firebombed by the Red Sox in Game 1 of the 2007 World Series, an outing in which he allowed seven runs in 2/3 of an inning in relief of starter Jeff Francis.

 

But even those three starts don’t hold a candle to his last three. In his three most recent outings, he has struck out 24 batters against just three walks over 18 innings. He has thrown 72% of his pitches for strikes, and he has generated more ground balls as well. Combine those three outings with his two long-relief stints at the beginning of the month, and you have a guy who has struck out 31 and walked just three this month. That’s a 10.33 K/BB, and it is has been bettered this month by only three pitchers. And none of them are also rocking a K/9 higher than 9.0 like Morales is.

 

Looking at his swing ratios, it’s clear that in his small sample of innings this season, Morales has improved dramatically. But rather than look at the numbers themselves, let’s look at them in comparison to league average:

 

• Year O-Swing% Z-Swing% Swing% Contact% F-Strike% SwStr%
  
• 2007 Below Below Below Below Below Below
  
• 2008 Below Below Below Below Below Below
  
• 2009 Below Below Below Above Below Above
  
• 2010 Below Above Below Below Below Below
  
• 2011 Below Above Below Above Above Above
  
• 2012 Above Above Above Above Above Above
  

 

Now, there may be noise in those numbers. After all, Morales has never thrown 50 innings in a season. But across the board this year, he is starting with strike one more frequently, and is getting more swings and less contact. His 35.1% O-Swing% this season ranks seventh in the game among those with at least 40 innings pitched, and his 11.7% SwStr% is tied for tenth. Breaking down his stats into splits is likely folly given the extremely small samples, but while all of his seasons contain small samples, this is the only season in which he’s been effective against right-handed pitching. His 4.00 K/BB against righties this season dwarfs his career 1.51 mark. His 2.82 FIP against righties is also easily a career best.

 

It seems that Morales is mixing up his pitches a bit better as well. In scanning data from Pitchf/x, Brooks Baseball and Texas Leaguers, Morales is throwing his four-seam fastball less and using his two-seam fastball/sinker, curveball and changeup/splitter much more frequently than he has in the past. The two-seamer in particular is a pitch that he is featuring more, and he is able to get more movement on it than his four-seam fastball while still generating the same velocity. More movement with the same velocity is not something you see very often, and so far, the results for Morales have been lethal.

 

There is no telling what will come next for Morales. If he was throwing the same mix of pitches and generating the same below-average number of swings and misses, it would be easy to discount these three starts. After all, his opponents were the Cubs, Braves and Mariners, which is a far cry from offensive juggernauts like the Rangers, Cardinals and Yankees. But he’s not doing that — he is throwing different pitches, and getting different results, and they back up the great bottom-line numbers he has put up. At 1.2 WAR, this has already been Morales’ best season, and we haven’t even reached the half-way mark.

 

Ever since he flamed out in Colorado, few have paid Morales any mind, but his performance this past month, combined with Josh Beckett’s impending return, has spurred Boston manager Bobby Valentine to institute a six-man rotation until the All-Star break. When Clay Buchholz returns, Morales could find himself the sixth-man in a five-man rotation. But right now, for the first time, he is harnessing his stuff like it was always imagined he would. Franklin Morales has achieved success in a Major League uniform before, but should he remain in the Red Sox rotation, this may be the first time that he has truly arrived.

[example1]

Right now Morales is the only starting pitcher with what I would call 'electric' stuff. Hitters are guessing against him. Lester used to look like that, Beckett did too historically, at times. Buchholz has much better command and better pitches, but he doesn't have the kick on his FB that Morales does. It's pretty exciting to see.

[BornToRun]

Now the icing on the cake would be him shutting down new York and jacko tasting his own salty tears after another poor prediction.

[redsoxbeatz]

Just do a six-man even after the ASB, Morales #6. Or Dice-K #6. Or Trade Dice-K.

 

If Morales is the real deal... again... Sox get an incredible new starter for the rotation. Too bad their isn't enough time before the TD to know for sure if he really has regained/controlled his abilities of the past.

[FredLynn]

Morales could turn into a terrific starter and Miller could become the most dominant lefty reliever in the AL East. Nava could be an all-star and Bradley, Barnes and Kalish could turn out to be amazing, but Theo won't get credit. He merely acquired them when nobody else did.

 

With Morales, Valentine deserves credit for starting him. Tito wouldn't have done that.

 

Theo gets all the credit he deserves, both good and bad. If Morales and Miller turn out to be great players I will be first in line to credit the guy who brought them here. The jury is still out on them. Nava is a career minor leaguer who is currently doing well. Enjoy it. History tells us that he will soon return to earth. Those other guys have barely sniffed the majors. I am not ready to give Epstein credit for any of those guys because they have proven nothing so far.

[FredLynn]

Now the icing on the cake would be him shutting down new York and jacko tasting his own salty tears after another poor prediction.

 

Beating whoever replaces Petitte..............

[seabeachfred]

I never said we don't need another arm. Chill out man.

 

All I said was that the emergence of Morales is big because, potentially, it doesn't force the Red Sox to concede the division in the last series because they don't have confidence in a #4 or #5 starter. They can go after the division in the final series with their 1-2-3 starters and feel confident that, if they don't win the division, they can go into a play in game with their #4 starter and feel very confident about winning.

 

I still very much think they need another arm, Garza or Grienke. Jayson Stark reported today that the Cubs are looking for 2 controllable players with high upside. So, would you go Lavarnway + Kalish for Garza? Or Lavarnway + Cecchini?

 

The emergence of Salty makes Lavarnway expendable, IMO. He definitely fits the bill as a high upside, controllable player.

 

You go into the 2nd half of the season with a rotation of Lester Beckett Buchholz Garza Morales/Doubront, and you have to feel pretty comfortable with that.

 

I keep getting the hair on my neck raised when so many of you keep saying we can trade Ryan Lavarnway for this or that reason. First of all I'm still not sold on Salty. Yes, he has power but he also hits better lefthanded and when Crawford and Ellsbury get back we are going to be too lefthanded for our own good. You put Kalish in there and where is the RH sock save for two or three players? We spend over a decade trying to come up with a RH power hitter who could take advantage of Fenway Park, finally have one and he is either being blocked from coming to Boston or traded every other damn day. Ryan is a player who will be a 30 homer 100 RBI man and those do not grow on trees. Besides, even with Garza or Grienke we are still not going to be able to compete for a playoff spot unless Lester, Beckett and Buchholz get their s*** together---and so far they have not.

 

I would like to go with the kids w hen it finally dawns on others that this year is not going to be a year for the Red Sox, but we play our cards right and allow Papi to leave after this season along with Dice K and Youk's money coming off the rolls we will have enough bread to get a good pitcher in FA and trade for another one. Lavarnway, Kalish and Middlebrooks stay---to me those are non starters for any trade talks. Just my opinion....and my strong opinion.

[redsoxbeatz]

I keep getting the hair on my neck raised when so many of you keep saying we can trade Ryan Lavarnway for this or that reason. First of all I'm still not sold on Salty. Yes, he has power but he also hits better lefthanded and when Crawford and Ellsbury get back we are going to be too lefthanded for our own good. You put Kalish in there and where is the RH sock save for two or three players? We spend over a decade trying to come up with a RH power hitter who could take advantage of Fenway Park, finally have one and he is either being blocked from coming to Boston or traded every other damn day. Ryan is a player who will be a 30 homer 100 RBI man and those do not grow on trees. Besides, even with Garza or Grienke we are still not going to be able to compete for a playoff spot unless Lester, Beckett and Buchholz get their s*** together---and so far they have not.

 

I would like to go with the kids w hen it finally dawns on others that this year is not going to be a year for the Red Sox, but we play our cards right and allow Papi to leave after this season along with Dice K and Youk's money coming off the rolls we will have enough bread to get a good pitcher in FA and trade for another one. Lavarnway, Kalish and Middlebrooks stay---to me those are non starters for any trade talks. Just my opinion....and my strong opinion.

 

I agree on not being sold on Salty. He is having a good season but I don't think it'll last OR won't happen again next season, not to such a degree. Salty is still a high-strikeout guy that swings at most everything but has tons o' power. I'd rather sell high on him and package him to get Garza/Greinke. Then bring Lavarnway up to split with Shoppach.

 

Though, I disagree... Beckett has got his s*** relatively together minus the inflammed shoulder. I'm confident in his start on Saturday.

 

Lester needs to come around, hopefully an ASB resurgence. Morales is giving us incredible spot starts and who knows, maybe a #5 pitcher.

[jung]

Well trading your starting catcher "this year" to get a pitcher hoping that you end up with enough starting pitching "this year" to get to the post season does not make much sense. Whether this will last for Salty is not really the question.....although I do tend to think we have to look at this as progress for Salty and recognize that a power hitting catcher that does not hit much for average is not really considered a bad thing.

 

At this point I would have to say that based on what we see from Salty and what we hear about Lavs, Salty has finally turned into a superior defender when compared to Lavs.

 

Anyway if one of them goes for a pitcher, I think it will be Lavs and not Salty...rightly or wrongly. Maybe neither Salty or Lavs will be part of any deal the Sox make to get another arm here.

[lospunchados]

No one seems to mention that Morales is only 26 and was called up at 21. Very few pitchers in that 21-24 year old range have excellent control. He's been learning on the job and seems to be showing great improvement over the last year and a bit.

[redsoxbeatz]

No one seems to mention that Morales is only 26 and was called up at 21. Very few pitchers in that 21-24 year old range have excellent control. He's been learning on the job and seems to be showing great improvement over the last year and a bit.

 

definitely have mentioned that he is only 26 years old. He's turning into a gem.

 

D-backs were silly to let this guy go so freaking young. Their location also hurts their pitchers.

[jung]

26 is young but Frank is not a babe in the woods either.

 

From what I can see, where it might have been hard for folks like us to see what Frank has is in his motion and delivery. When Frank has consistently got his arm slotted correctly, he seems to be fantastic. Has control and velocity on his fastball. Where he seems to struggle with that most is pitching from the stretch and since we have been seeing him mostly as a reliever much of what we have been thinking with regard to Frank is based on his reliever role. Many times that has meant we had not been able to see as much of him pitching full wind up to make any real judgements about that.

 

For my part that has been an issue for me. I did not see him showing such terrific consistency until I got to see enough of him pitching full wind up as much as we have seen when Frank starts. Then when he does pitch from the stretch the difference in his consistency at least to me is really noticeable.

 

So I think one thing Frank will have to work to improve is getting the same degree of consistency pitching from the stretch as he appears to have pitching full wind up. Surely I am missing some things but at least for me that turned out to be one thing that I could identify.

[mvp 78]

definitely have mentioned that he is only 26 years old. He's turning into a gem.

 

D-backs were silly to let this guy go so freaking young. Their location also hurts their pitchers.

 

He never played for the DBags.

[a700hitter]

Right now Morales is the only starting pitcher with what I would call 'electric' stuff. Hitters are guessing against him. Lester used to look like that' date=' Beckett did too historically, at times. Buchholz has much better command and better pitches, but he doesn't have the kick on his FB that Morales does. It's pretty exciting to see.[/quote']After Cook's 2 Hit performance against the Mariners last night, my enthusiasm over Morales is somewhat tempered. I am still really excite to see him pitch his next game, but I am backing off my dreams of him being the next Sandy Koufax-- just a bit.

[SoxFanForsyth]

definitely have mentioned that he is only 26 years old. He's turning into a gem.

 

D-backs were silly to let this guy go so freaking young. Their location also hurts their pitchers.

 

Rox, not DBacks, but I agree.

[SoxFanForsyth]

After Cook's 2 Hit performance against the Mariners last night' date=' my enthusiasm over Morales is somewhat tempered. I am still really excite to see him pitch his next game, but I am backing off my dreams of him being the next Sandy Koufax-- just a bit.[/quote']

 

Cook threw 81 pitches and got 0 swing and misses. Is that not unbelievable??

 

Morales had 9 in 109 pitches. I still think Morales is clearly a better pitcher, based entirely on his stuff. He's a guy who can go out and shut down the Yankees. Cook will shut down weaker opponents but will get ripped by the big boys.

[example1]

After Cook's 2 Hit performance against the Mariners last night' date=' my enthusiasm over Morales is somewhat tempered. I am still really excite to see him pitch his next game, but I am backing off my dreams of him being the next Sandy Koufax-- just a bit.[/quote']

 

Yes the Mariners are pathetic, but Cook has been throwing gems all year. Mostly at AAA, but still, he's one of those efficient pitchers that only other teams seem to get.

 

The Sox seem to be benefiting from pitchers who are having their first chance to pitch outside of Colorado.

 

Does anyone else watching the M's games just continually think "There must be a way to pry Felix Hernandez from this team. Their offense is so pathetic that they have to be willing to go in a new direction."

[Station 13]

The Mariners are like s*** turd ass offense. They scored 1 run in 18 innings in the two games, and only 5 runs in their last 6 game at home.

[SoxFanForsyth]

The Mariners are like s*** turd ass offense. They scored 1 run in 18 innings in the two games' date=' and only 5 runs in their last 6 game at home.[/quote']

 

Fixed.

[Laser Show]

Cook threw 81 pitches and got 0 swing and misses. Is that not unbelievable??

 

Morales had 9 in 109 pitches. I still think Morales is clearly a better pitcher, based entirely on his stuff. He's a guy who can go out and shut down the Yankees. Cook will shut down weaker opponents but will get ripped by the big boys.

 

Cook isn't a swing and miss pitcher though. 560 K in 1329 IP for an anemic 3.8 SO/9.