PLAYER PROFILE: BRYAN MORRIS
I talked yesterday about Bryan Morris and his move to the bullpen, which only makes his struggles this year worse. Morris currently has a 4.66 ERA and a 28:17 K/BB ratio in 38.2 innings. This follows a 2010 season when Morris had a 4.25 ERA, but had success with his secondary numbers, with an 84:31 K/BB ratio in 89 innings. This year, Morris has really struggled as a starter, with a 6.04 ERA and a 17:16 K/BB ratio in 25.1 innings. So why the struggles this year? I asked Kyle Stark what the issue was with Morris this year, and what he needs to work on going forward.
“He’s definitely working on consistently repeating his delivery, which he was last year as well, but the strained oblique interrupted that process this year and has prevented Bryan from getting into a rhythm,” Stark said. “We’re hopeful that he is on his way now.”
Morris did have a strong outing in his first game since being moved to the bullpen. He pitched three innings with no earned runs, no walks, and four strikeouts. However, that’s not new, as Morris has been strong out of the bullpen this year. As mentioned last night, the Pirates are hoping the move will give him more frequent opportunities to work on his delivery issues. If the starting rotation role doesn’t work out, Morris has the stuff to make it as a strong late inning reliever. That might not be the value we expected as the end result from the Jason Bay trade, but some value is better than no value at all.
DAILY SUMMARY
Top Pitcher: Garrett Olson, LHP (1.61) – 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Calvin Anderson, DH (.257) – 2-for-3, HR, BB, SB
Home Runs: Calvin Anderson (12)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (35-37)
Result: Lehigh Valley 4, Indianapolis 3
Starting Pitcher: Garrett Olson, LHP (1.61) – 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Chase d’Arnaud, SS (.287) – 2-for-4, 2B, SB
Other Notable Performers
Matt Hague, 1B-3B (.307) – 3-for-4
Cesar Valdez, RHP (1-1, 3.52) – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: D’Arnaud stole his 15th base of the season. He is now 9-for-23 in his last five games, with two steals. Hague is 8-for-13 in his last three games.
AA: ALTOONA CURVE (34-35)
Altoona was off today.
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS (28-40)
Result: Bradenton 6, Jupiter 1
Starting Pitcher: Quinton Miller, RHP (5-6, 6.51) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Calvin Anderson, DH (.257) – 2-for-3, HR, BB, SB
Other Notable Performers
Evan Chambers, CF (.197) – 2-for-4, SB
Robbie Grossman, RF (.275) – 1-for-3, BB, 2 R
Brian Leach, RHP (4.63) – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Duke Welker, RHP (2.97) – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: Calvin Anderson hit his 12th homer of the year. Coming in to tonight’s game, he was hitting for a .375/.455/.688 line in 48 at-bats in the month of June, with three homers. Miller has a 3.66 ERA in his four June starts. He had seven shutout innings two starts ago, but struggled his last time out with six runs allowed in 1.2 innings.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER (35-33)
West Virginia was off today for the South Atlantic League All-Star break.
A-: STATE COLLEGE SPIKES (1-3)
Check out my recap of the game and Stetson Allie’s pro debut.
RK: GCL PIRATES (1-0)
Result: Pirates 5, Blue Jays 3
Starting Pitcher: Orlando Castro, LHP (2.25) – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Yhonathan Barrios, 3B (.750) – 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, BB, SB
Other Notable Performers
Logan Pevny, RHP (1-0 2.25) – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Willy Garcia, RF (.600) – 3-for-5, SB
Joey Schoenfeld, C (.333) – 1-for-3, BB
Game Notes: Castro pitched three shutout innings in relief for West Virginia last week before moving down to the GCL. Logan Pevny was the 49th round pick by the Pirates in 2010, and pitched 4.2 innings in the GCL. Willy Garcia, Jodaneli Carvajal, Gregory Polanco, Yhonathan Barrios, Jose Osuna, Alen Hanson, and Ashley Ponce (pinch runner) all made their US debuts tonight.
RK: DSL Pirates (11-5)
The DSL Pirates score wasn’t uploaded last night.
RK: VSL Pirates (18-12)
Result: Reds 7, Pirates 4
Starting Pitcher: Luis Campos, RHP (4.50) – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Ulises Montilla, CF (.357) – 2-for-3, 2 2B
Other Notable Performers
Jordan Galvez, 2B (.344) – 2-for-4, 2B
Dilson Herrera, 3B (.292) – 1-for-4, 2B
Game Notes: Montilla is hitting for a .424 average in 59 at-bats in the month of June.
