Twins Spotlight: RHP Andrew Morris

[Seth Stohs]

In the (off)Season 3 premiere episode of Twins Spotlight, get to know Twins right-handed pitching prospect and 2022 fourth-round draft pick Andrew Morris.  (includes VIDEO)

Image courtesy of William Parmeter / Mighty Mussels

Andrew Morris tossed his first college pitches at Division II Mesa State in Colorado as a 16-year-old. As a child, he moved around the country, from New York, Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado. While in Alaska, he was homeschooled for a little while and was able to skip second grade. That certainly created some challenges when he got to Monarch High School in Boulder. 

“Because of my age, I didn’t even make the C team. I was on the Level 3 team my freshman year which is below the C team somehow. C team was like the freshman team.” He continued. “The next year I made the C team, and then I was on JV the year after that. My senior year was the first that I actually played on varsity.” 

Looking to grow and mature, he went to Mesa State in Grand Junction, Colorado. Despite his youth, he went 7-1 with a 3.88 ERA during his freshman year. He was able to pitch in the Division II College World Series that year. He was 2-1 over five starts in the Covid-shortened. Then in 2021, he went 9-0 with a 2.19 ERA. After struggling some with his control earlier, he struck out 115 batters and walked just 19 batters in 78 innings. 

At that point, he was hearing some from scouts, but he decided to enter the transfer portal and ended up at Texas Tech. “I had some draft offers. I just felt like I needed to take the next step without going to the draft yet and face some better lineups and better competition. 

In his one season in the Big 12, he went 8-2 in 16 games. In 88 1/3 innings, he struck out 91 and walked 28 batters. 

The Twins drafted him in the fourth round. Trevor Brown is the Twins area scout. “I only talked to him once, and I didn’t really think they were interested. Oddly enough, I didn’t even fill out their questionnaire that you’re supposed to do, so I thought they were probably not going to take me but then they did.” 

For the draft, his parents rented a hotel suite in Las Vegas. His dad lives in Oregon with his little brothers. His mom lives in Colorado Springs with his stepdad. It was a good place to meet in the middle. His girlfriend and her family were there as well. And some of his high school friends. 

He was on the phone with Brown when he heard his name called on the television. 

This summer was more about introductions and physicals and adjusting to pro ball. He’d already thrown a lot of innings in the spring, so he spent time working with the Twins staff on weight training, diet, analytics and technology, and more. There were a lot of meetings on pitching and discussions on what has made them successful. 

He did pitch one inning in one game in the FCL. Then he joined the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels for their playoff series. He pitched once and worked three scoreless innings. 

The 48-minute video includes a ton of Morris’s thoughts on a variety of topics. 

• How he feels about how the Twins use analytics and technology. 
• His time on the Mighty Mussels playoff roster. 
• Getting to know his 2022 draft class and seeing how much talent there is. For instance, he said, “Ben Rakes!” 
• The work done at Instructs, workouts, throwing, scrimmaging, and more. 
• Developing his offseason plan for working out and throwing. 
• What he does away from baseball. 
• Bordering the line between ‘routine’ and ‘superstition.’ 
• And much more. 

A four-pitch mix (at least) means that he is very likely to spend his time developing as a starting pitcher. Despite playing four college seasons, Morris only turned 21 years old on September 1st. The future is bright. 

Your turn. Share your thoughts on this Twins prospect as he begins his pro career. And who knows, maybe he’ll check out the Comments, so feel free to ask him questions as well.

 

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[roger]

Very interesting young man, Seth.  And thanks for bringing us something other than another article on getting that ACE pitcher followed by all the articles on catchers.

Reading about him brought back lots of memories.  Our son played for Denver U back in the 80's and I remember spending a wonderful long weekend in Grand Junction when they played Mesa State.  The highlight for me, however, was spending some time away from the ballpark at several of the Peach groves in the area.  Have always been a sucker for those fantastic Colorado peaches which grow along the Colorado River in the Mesa area.

Must admit I knew nothing about this young man prior to watching this.  Sounds like someone we just might get excited about next year and beyond.

 

[tony&rodney]

Nice article. Good luck to this young man. One thing we saw in the playoffs - command and control of your pitches is the ticket. 

[Doctor Gast]

Thanks Seth, I'll place him on my radar. 

[jorgenswest]

Seth I really appreciate articles like this. Thank you.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Thank you, Seth. I needed that hope-filled article/interview this Monday morning. 

[MN_ExPat]

3 hours ago, roger said:

Very interesting young man, Seth.  And thanks for bringing us something other than another article on getting that ACE pitcher followed by all the articles on catchers.

Reading about him brought back lots of memories.  Our son played for Denver U back in the 80's and I remember spending a wonderful long weekend in Grand Junction when they played Mesa State.  The highlight for me, however, was spending some time away from the ballpark at several of the Peach groves in the area.  Have always been a sucker for those fantastic Colorado peaches which grow along the Colorado River in the Mesa area.

Must admit I knew nothing about this young man prior to watching this.  Sounds like someone we just might get excited about next year and beyond.

 

Very cool that your son played college ball.  Must have been some pretty great memories.  Our oldest is just finding out that we weren't kidding when we told him about how difficult it can be to balance academics, school life and college ball (and on a side note, fall ball went well so Coach told him he should see some innings out of the bullpen as a Freshman this year ).

Also, thanks as always Seth.  Love these spot lights on some pretty amazing young men. 

[roger]

2 hours ago, MN_ExPat said:

Very cool that your son played college ball.  Must have been some pretty great memories.  Our oldest is just finding out that we weren't kidding when we told him about how difficult it can be to balance academics, school life and college ball (and on a side note, fall ball went well so Coach told him he should see some innings out of the bullpen as a Freshman this year ).

Also, thanks as always Seth.  Love these spot lights on some pretty amazing young men. 

Recall your son is in Chattanooga, right? 

Perhaps the most memorable trip was one of their spring trips to Las Cruces, NM.  Don't remember a lot about the games, but I will always remember going to Mesilla where we walked into this neat photography gallery.  All the pictures were signed by Bob Lilly.  We asked if it was 'the' Bob Lilly and was told yes.  The gal went into the back room to get him and we talked for probably an hour.  Was fun talking to one of the all-time greats who played for the Cowboys, me being from the Wisconsin Fox Valley (green bay area).

[Seth Stohs]

Seriously impressive young man, I'd say. Four years of college under his belt and still just 21. Good stuff. Definitely one to watch in 2023! 

 

FYI - Two more Twins Spotlight shows coming this week. So, check back for those... hoping to do 2-3 per week. 

Also have a 3-part series with Brewers LHP prospect Brandon Knarr that kicked off today at Brewer Fanatic. I think @roger would really enjoy this interview. In Part 1 today, it's his younger years, and he talks about being a 12-13 year old and learning a pitch-grip from a future Hall of Famer. Also talks about his year at Notre Dame before joining the College of Central Florida where he played for Marty Smith. The hitting coach was Marty's son Ryan Smith who is now the Saints hitting coach. The pitching coach was Zach Bove for the first half of that season, until the Twins brought him aboard. He is now the assistant minor league pitching coordinator.  Always fun to find those kinds of connections. But also Knarr is smart and discussed so many things in the detail we like. 

[MN_ExPat]

1 hour ago, Seth Stohs said:

Seriously impressive young man, I'd say. Four years of college under his belt and still just 21. Good stuff. Definitely one to watch in 2023! 

FYI - Two more Twins Spotlight shows coming this week. So, check back for those... hoping to do 2-3 per week. 

Also have a 3-part series with Brewers LHP prospect Brandon Knarr that kicked off today at Brewer Fanatic. I think @roger would really enjoy this interview. In Part 1 today, it's his younger years, and he talks about being a 12-13 year old and learning a pitch-grip from a future Hall of Famer. Also talks about his year at Notre Dame before joining the College of Central Florida where he played for Marty Smith. The hitting coach was Marty's son Ryan Smith who is now the Saints hitting coach. The pitching coach was Zach Bove for the first half of that season, until the Twins brought him aboard. He is now the assistant minor league pitching coordinator.  Always fun to find those kinds of connections. But also Knarr is smart and discussed so many things in the detail we like. 

I ran into Coach Smith (The Elder), two years ago I believe, at a showcase my son was attending.  I was wearing a Twins shirt and we struck up a conversation about the Twins and his son.  He was super bummed when the Twins moved on from the Pensacola Wahoos, as it was just a short trip form him to go and see them play and spend time with his son.  Pretty good guy.

[MN_ExPat]

2 hours ago, roger said:

Recall your son is in Chattanooga, right? 

Perhaps the most memorable trip was one of their spring trips to Las Cruces, NM.  Don't remember a lot about the games, but I will always remember going to Mesilla where we walked into this neat photography gallery.  All the pictures were signed by Bob Lilly.  We asked if it was 'the' Bob Lilly and was told yes.  The gal went into the back room to get him and we talked for probably an hour.  Was fun talking to one of the all-time greats who played for the Cowboys, me being from the Wisconsin Fox Valley (green bay area).

Yes Sir... great recall .

Sounds like that was a great trip, and a pretty cool experience to geek out about.

[roger]

1 hour ago, Seth Stohs said:

Seriously impressive young man, I'd say. Four years of college under his belt and still just 21. Good stuff. Definitely one to watch in 2023! 

 

FYI - Two more Twins Spotlight shows coming this week. So, check back for those... hoping to do 2-3 per week. 

Also have a 3-part series with Brewers LHP prospect Brandon Knarr that kicked off today at Brewer Fanatic. I think @roger would really enjoy this interview. In Part 1 today, it's his younger years, and he talks about being a 12-13 year old and learning a pitch-grip from a future Hall of Famer. Also talks about his year at Notre Dame before joining the College of Central Florida where he played for Marty Smith. The hitting coach was Marty's son Ryan Smith who is now the Saints hitting coach. The pitching coach was Zach Bove for the first half of that season, until the Twins brought him aboard. He is now the assistant minor league pitching coordinator.  Always fun to find those kinds of connections. But also Knarr is smart and discussed so many things in the detail we like. 

Thanks for the heads up, Seth.

Impressive young man.  When I watch your interviews with Twins prospects, I hope that most of them make it.  Watching this, I got a feeling I know this kid is going to be good...real good.  Guess we will just have to tip our caps to the Brew Crew.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Great work Seth!

Rootin’ for you Andrew! Go get ‘em!

[Blyleven2011]

Looks like he got the make up with 4 pitches and his stats look good year after year ...

Hope we got a good one , see you at target field in a few years kid , go get them  ...