Lady’s Choice: Player Pick for March

April 1st, 2009

April 01, 2009 — Bet you weren’t expecting one of these for another month.

Actually, I’ve been thinking about this one all winter. Or at least, ever since I noticed his Winter Ball numbers. Drumroll, please. . . .this month’s pick is Kendry Morales.

If I had only one word to describe the big man when he first appeared in Salt Lake, I’d say, um, . . . “stiff.” I’ll admit that’s a bit unfair, since Morales spoke virtually no English when he arrived in the U.S. And let’s not forget, the kid was only 21 years old.

Furthermore, considering the journey he took to get here, who could blame him for feeling as though he’d been teleported to an uncharted, possibly hostile, planet? Getting out of Cuba is not as simple as grabbing your toilet kit and passport, and hopping onto the next available flight. For reasons a bit vague, perhaps rumors of his discontent, the one-time Cuban All-Star got yanked off the national team. Such a fall from the good graces of El Comandante means going from being a pampered celebrity-athlete to just another 20-something party laborer. Morales tried to escape more than once and spent some time in jail—which is how the Cuban government sets the example for other public-figure-would-be-defectors.

Finally in 2004, Morales made it to the Dominican Republic, via Miami. He spent his first year in organized baseball with a couple-dozen games at Advanced-A Rancho Cucamonga and quickly moved up to Double-A Arkansas. He began his second year, 2006, on the Salt Lake opening day roster. That summer, he turned 23.

Looking over his stats for the first two years at Triple-A, I was surprised to see such a high SO:BB ratio— 70 SO: 29 BB is nearly 2.5-to-1 (ouch). I wasn’t surprised to see the low homerun totals (17 HR). At the time, I wondered what the Angels were planning to do with a slow-footed, switch-hitter who struck out a lot and didn’t hit the long ball. Nor did he have the greatest defensive glove. Let me rephrase that, it seemed as though his feet kept getting tangled up. As if his first step was always an “oopsie.”

Change was in the air last season, although his PCL numbers don’t readily show it. He looked like he was finally learning to relax, like he was actually enjoying his job. He smiled more often, the sort of shy smile you’d expect from a young man playing baseball.

After the Angels’ early exit from post-season play, Morales headed south to play in the Dominican Winter League. And there was nothing shy about the way he hammered the ball. In 29 games for the Gigantes del Cibao he hit .404 BA in 99 AB with 8 HR, 14 SO and 9 BB. ¡Caramba! ¡Quemado la ligua!

Winter Ball wrapped up at the end of January. Next stop? Spring Training in Tempe, AZ. With Texeira gone to the Yankees, the Angels front office made it quite clear who they’d like to take over at 1B. As of March 30, Morales had the most at-bats, 74 AB, and fifth-highest average, .405 BA (among Angels ballplayers with <27 AB), 3 HR, 8 SO and 3 BB. The only teammate with as many round-trippers and a higher average was Erick Aybar. BTW, you’ll also observe the only teammate with more total RBIs is Matt Brown. (Many thanks to Lyle Spencer for making note of this last stat in his blog.)

Thus, with fond hopes for his continued success this BeesGal says, “Vaya con dios,” or in Salt Lake vernacular. . .Bye for now!

Entry Filed under: Arkansas Travelers,Lady's Choice,Major League Baseball,Minor Leagues,Rancho Cucamoga Quakes,Salt Lake Bees