2025 Sire of Fort Myers Coronation

I have a confession to make: I hate spring training. Yes, it’s true. This distaste for the exhibition schedule is precisely what led me to create the Sire of Fort Myers award all those years ago. I wanted something to look forward to during this time of year.

I’m pleased to report that it has worked as intended.

I’ve had such a great time with this silly little project through the years, and appreciate all of you who’ve joined in on the fun. Before we crown the 2025 Sire of Fort Myers, let’s take a moment to look back. Here are the numbers each prior Sire of Fort Myers posted in his conquering spring:

Hitters
2018 Ryan LaMarre: .475/.511/.775 (1.286 OPS) in 45 PA
2023 Willi Castro: .250/.375/.575 (.950 OPS) in 48 PA
2024 Brooks Lee: .333/.351/.611 (.962 OPS) in 37 PA

Pitchers
2019 Ryne Harper: 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 1.05 FIP, 16 K, 0 BB in 12 IP
2021 Derek Law: 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 1.45 FIP, 13 K, 3 BB in 8 IP
2022 Jhoan Duran: 0.00 ERA, 0.29 WHIP, 1.23 FIP, 10 K, 1 BB in 7 IP

Eligibility
As a reminder, to be eligible for Sire of Fort Myers, a player must either be 1) Not on the 40-man roster, or 2) Have never played in the majors. 

If this was Year 1 of the award, I might consider changing these intentionally narrow guidelines a bit. The spirit of the award is mostly to honor a player battling for a roster spot. That’s a pretty general concept, and I wanted a clear-cut definition of who would and would not be in the running. Guys like Zebby Matthews, Mickey Gasper and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. kinda feel like they should be eligible, but rules are rules and they’re there for a reason.

Still, that trio of players deserves a quick tip of the cap. Matthews struck out 12 batters over 9 1/3 scoreless innings, Gasper had a .904 OPS, while Keirsey had a .761 mark. These three entered camp on the fringes of the big-league roster, and two of them will break camp with the Twins. Gasper and Keirsey made their first Opening Day roster. While Matthews will open in St. Paul, expect him to be ready when a need arises. 

The Finalists
Hitter: Jeferson Morales
Who could’ve seen this one coming? As recently as 2023, Morales was stuck in Cedar Rapids, repeating the level for a third season. He finally made it to Double-A Wichita last season, and did enough to warrant a late-season promotion to St. Paul. It was a brief but brilliant flash with the Saints. Morales hit .359/.433/.585 in his first exposure to the top level of the minors, but it was easy to dismiss as a small sample, coming over just 60 plate appearances.

Maybe there’s something more here.

Morales was signed out of Venezuela way back in 2016. He became a father at age 19 (more on that in this 2022 article, from Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette), the same year he made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League. He was the Fort Myers winner of the Harmon Killebrew Award in 2021, which is given to the player who goes above and beyond for fan interaction and community service. He’s also had moments of brilliance on the field, being named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star in 2021.

Morales has a line-drive swing and is great at making contact. He struck out in less than 16% of his plate appearances last season, despite facing pitching that was much better than he’d ever been exposed to. In the field, Morales used to primarily be a catcher, but now only dons the tools of ignorance every once in a blue moon. Instead, he spends the majority of his time in left field, with some cameos at second base mixed in. 

Morales has had an excellent spring with the Twins. He stuck in big-league camp through the very end, hitting .375/.459/.531 in 37 plate appearances over 20 games. 

The only other Sire-eligible hitters to see more plate appearances than Morales were former big-leaguers Armando Alvarez and Mike Ford, who did not have springs worthy of Sire consideration, to say the least. Prospect Luke Keaschall had a strong showing (.814 OPS), as did newcomer to the org Allan Cerda (.982 OPS), but Morales was the clear-cut leader among hitters for Sire of Fort Myers.

Pitcher: Andrew Morris
It’s pretty tough to beat a 0.00 ERA. Toss in a 0.57 WHIP, and Morris proved worthy of consideration for the crown, cape and scepter over his seven innings pitched this spring. My personal favorite player to watch in the entire system, Morris is an animated, intense competitor who was playing college ball for Colorado Mesa at 16 years old. He’d represent the title well.

There’s just one problem: While you can’t beat a 0.00 ERA, Morris wasn’t as dominant as prior arms to take the crown. 

Sires Derek Law and Jhoan Durán posted strikeout rates above 40%, and Sire Ryne Harper struck out nearly a third of the batters he faced. Morris punched out just five of 25 batters, a 20% strikeout rate. He made a great impression, sure, but it wasn’t the overpowering display we’re used to seeing from a Sire of Fort Myers.

Another arm to garner consideration was Randy Dobnak, who had a 0.00 ERA but a much less impressive 1.50 WHIP. He also made just two appearances, logging six innings. Dobnak will have to settle for a spot on the Opening Day roster as his reward. Jacob Bosiokovic was also excellent (0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 47.1 K%), but only logged 4 2/3 innings. Originally drafted as a position player, Bosiokovic converted to pitching a couple of years into his pro career, spent some time in indy ball, and was with the Cardinals Triple-A affiliate last year. Being motivated to familiarize myself with guys like him is one of the things I enjoy most about Sire of Fort Myers.

Still, Morris emerged as the top arm in this year’s class. So it’s come down to Morales vs. Morris.

And the 2025 Sire of Fort Myers is … 

Jeferson Morales!

Congratulations on winning the world’s greatest honor. I present you with the crown, cape and scepter. Represent the throne well in St. Paul. Keep this up and maybe we’ll even see you across the river at some point this summer.