WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2001
R:  248/296/333, 117 AB, 6 2B, 2 3B, 6 BB, 26 K, 4-5 SB

Morales didn’t hit much in his rookie league debut.  He played mostly second, with some time at short and third.

2002
R:  309/347/371, 175 AB, 7 2B, 3 2B, 7 BB, 28 K, 3-4 SB

Morales again played mainly second in the GCL and hit for average, with limited power and still not much patience.

2003
A:  271/302/376, 170 AB, 10 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 32 K, 0-1 SB
A+:  357/372/476, 42 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 5 K, 0-2 SB

The Twins moved Morales behind the plate and sent him to full season ball, although he ultimately got into only 60 games between the two levels.  He hit for a decent average and continued showing little power or patience.

2004
A+:  286/339/386, 332 AB, 13 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 29 BB, 78 K, 0-1 SB

Back at high A, Morales started drawing more walks, but also struck out more than previously.  He played behind the plate exclusively.

2005
AA:  250/286/300, 20 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K

Morales missed most of the season with an injury.

2006
AA:  211/276/311, 251 AB, 14 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 BB, 56 K, 1-3 SB
AAA:  143/143/143, 7 AB

Morales returned to AA and struggled badly at the plate.  He did throw out 39% of base stealers.

2007
AAA:  311/366/399, 376 AB, 25 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 30 BB, 44 K, 1-5 SB
MLB:  1.000/1.000/1.333, 3 AB, 1 2B

Morales moved up to AAA and had his best season to date, hitting over .300 and dramatically improving his walk and K rates.  He even threw out 36%.  The Twins called him up in September and he played one game, going 3-for-3, but sprained his ankle and missed the rest of the year.

2008
AAA:  315/348/426, 197 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 8 BB, 28 K, 0-1 SB

Morales went back to AAA and was hitting over .300 again, with slightly improved power but much less patience, when he sprained his ankle again in mid-June.  He missed the rest of the season.

2009
AAA:  336/413/436, 211 AB, 13 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 28 BB, 27 K, 1-4 SB
MLB:  311/381/361, 119 AB, 6 2B, 14 BB, 22 K

With Mauer hurt, Morales opened the season sharing the Twins’ catching duties with Mike Redmond.  He was up and down a number of times after Mauer came back.  He hit very well at both levels and his plate discipline made another sudden about-face.

2010
AAA:  264/350/380, 258 AB, 19 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 34 BB, 63 K
MLB:  194/295/250, 36 AB, 2 2B, 6 BB, 14 K

Morales opened the season on the disabled list due to off-season wrist surgery.  Possibly due to the after-effects of the surgery, he didn’t hit as well as he had the last few years.  He saw only limited time in the majors.  The Twins sent him to Colorado in the off-season.

2011
MLB:  267/352/317, 60 AB, 3 2B, 9 BB, 12 K, 0-1 SB

Morales opened the season as the Rockies’ backup catcher.  In mid-June, however, he broke his thumb.  The injury kept him out the rest of the year.

Morales figures to compete with Mike McKenry for the backup catcher job in spring training.  Morales’ reputation as a weak defender would seem to make McKenry the favorite, but Morales has one big factor in his favor:  his contract allows him to opt out on either March 31 or May 15 if he isn’t on the major league roster.  The Pirates probably are going to be very reluctant to go into the season without a veteran catcher in AAA, so they may be hesitant to risk losing Morales, while McKenry has an option left.

NOTE:  For some reason, Morales is being described in some quarters as being a “C/1B,” and at least one writer speculated that he’d compete for a job with Jake Fox and Nick Evans.  This makes no sense.  Morales never played first in the minors, not even once, and played just two games there for the Twins.  Fox and Evans figure to be corner backups if they make the team.  Both have the power bats necessary for the role.  Morales does not.