Prospect Profile: Logan Morrison

Logan Morrison was drafted by the Marlins in the 22nd round in 2005, from a high school in Slidell, Louisiana. He went to Maple Woods Community College in Missouri, then signed as a draft-and-follow in the spring of '06. His pro debut was nothing special: .270/.343/.348 in 26 games in the Gulf Coast League, then .203/.295/.284 in 23 games in the New York-Penn League. I didn't put him in the 2007 book buthe would have rated a Grade C: offensive potential according to scouts, but no performance yet.

Performance began in 2007: he hit .267/.343/.483 with 24 homers, 48 walks, and 96 strikeouts in 453 at-bats for Greensboro in the Sally League. I wrote in the 2008 book that Morrison was a breakout candidate for this year, though it remained to be seen if he would "just" be a slugger/power type, or if he could develop some batting average to go with it. I gave him a Grade C+ but with the sleeper potential moniker.

The breakout is in progress. Morrison is hittign .347/.409/.513 for Jupiter in the Florida State League, with 27 doubles, eight homers, 35 walks, and 52 strikeouts in 320 at-bats. Compared to last year he is hitting fewer homers, but the Florida State League isn't an easy place to hit lots of home runs and the large number of doubles is not surprising. I think the power will carry forward. His strikeout rate is down, and he's maintaining solid plate discipline, another good sign for a player moving up a level. HIs relative rate of production is way up: he had a +12 OPS last year, but this year it is +32.

Morrison's home/road split is unremarkable. One thing that does stand out is performance against left-handed pitching. He's hitting .364/.421/.562 against right-handers, but .295/.374/.359 against southpaws. He maintains strong batting average and OBP against them, but his power produciton is much less. It will be interesting to see if that holds up at higher levels. The decline in power against lefties could indicate that he willl struggle all-around against them eventually, but we will see.

Overall I like the upward trajectory of Morrison's performance. He doesn't turn 21 until August, so he's quite young as well. He also has a strong reputation for work ethic and makeup. In short, there is a lot to like here. He is still a bit  under the radar as a prospect, but is clearly one of the better first base prospects in the game.