Starter or Reliever: Where Should Andrew Morris Fit In?

Injury replacement depth this year, probably.
Lopez
Ryan
Ober
SWR
Bradley
Matthews

AAA
Abel
Festa
Prielipp
Morris
Rojas
Culpepper

With the loss of perennial rotation depth Dobnak, the conversion of Raya, Adams, Baker, Lewis and Klein to bullpen arms, Ohl's move to the Rockies and other shifting, the AAA starter rotation pool is thinner than what you'd be led to believe based on articles and comments here on TD. While the MLB ready depth might be pretty solid, there's a vacuum behind AAA right now. 

Morris probably doesn't have upside beyond #5 starter right now. Abel, Festa, Prielipp and Rojas all have a much higher expected ceiling at the moment.

Morris will likely see MLB starts this year, but as a short term spot starter. The kind of guy you don't worry about optioning up and down to fill a start or two, but not the number you call when you need 4+ starts or something like that.

The high end prospect arms in the system aren't likely to pitch above AA this year, let alone to start the year. Guys like Quick, Bohorquez, Hill, and Soto. So there's a need for rotation depth at AAA.

1 hour ago, KnoblauchWasFramed said:

It's amazing how this team can take a starter who has amazing potential and works as a starter all the way through the minors just to hit the big leagues and get moved to a relief arm almost immediately.  Jhoan Duran being the most recent famous case of this.  The Twins just bail out instantly the second a young starter starts to show the slighest flaw.  No attempt to repair the kid, just off to the bullpen and then sign a dumpster diving washed up starter in Free Agency for $12M a year.  Griffin Jax and Louie Varland as the most recent famous cases of this.  

Do you really think the Twins are unique in terms of taking starters who can’t make the jump to major league starting successfully and transitioning them to the bullpen?

"The site uses a psStuff+ stat, which mimics the Stuff+ stat we're all more familiar with."

Says who?  I thought PnStuff was a cartoon character and PnStuff+ was his older brother.  I guess I'll stick to my personal favorite measure:  Can he get people out? 

2 hours ago, KnoblauchWasFramed said:

It's amazing how this team can take a starter who has amazing potential and works as a starter all the way through the minors just to hit the big leagues and get moved to a relief arm almost immediately.  Jhoan Duran being the most recent famous case of this.  The Twins just bail out instantly the second a young starter starts to show the slighest flaw.  No attempt to repair the kid, just off to the bullpen and then sign a dumpster diving washed up starter in Free Agency for $12M a year.  Griffin Jax and Louie Varland as the most recent famous cases of this.  

Griffin Jax and Louie Varland failed to produce at the MLB level in the rotation. Both were given ample opportunity to impress, and both struggled.

Jax got 14 starts and produced a 6.10 ERA with a 6.24 FIP with a poor K rate, and he struggled to strand runners without a good out pitch.

Louie Varland was just about as bad. A 5.18 ERA and 5.37 FIP with a weak K rate and tons of hard contact allowed across 18 starts.

Duran wasn't even 9 months removed from UCL replacement surgery when the Twins had him in the bullpen. If they had decided to keep him as a starter, there was zero chance he would have been available until the 2nd half of 2022. Instead, they were aggressive in getting Duran into the show. 

Almost every single reliever in baseball is a failed starter.

3 hours ago, mark sills said:

As someone who has watched a lot of Andrew Morris games . He should continue being a starter. I feel he should be given the chance to be in the top five during spring training and let the best five represent. the team. He is more than ready to take on the challenge. Last year in spring training and the beginning of the year he didn't give up a earned run in his first five outings, Then someone got a tell on him and that's when he had a bad spell, then was hurt. Towards the end of last year he was right back to form.

If they do move him to a relief pitcher, he will compete at a high level, 

Morris got an invite to Spring Training, and that's more than the Twins needed to give him. It's a shot to impress again and potentially make his case, though I'd consider him to be a long shot if there aren't additional injuries.

6 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Injury replacement depth this year, probably.
Lopez
Ryan
Ober
SWR
Bradley
Matthews

AAA
Abel
Festa
Prielipp
Morris
Rojas
Culpepper

With the loss of perennial rotation depth Dobnak, the conversion of Raya, Adams, Baker, Lewis and Klein to bullpen arms, Ohl's move to the Rockies and other shifting, the AAA starter rotation pool is thinner than what you'd be led to believe based on articles and comments here on TD. While the MLB ready depth might be pretty solid, there's a vacuum behind AAA right now. 

Morris probably doesn't have upside beyond #5 starter right now. Abel, Festa, Prielipp and Rojas all have a much higher expected ceiling at the moment.

Morris will likely see MLB starts this year, but as a short term spot starter. The kind of guy you don't worry about optioning up and down to fill a start or two, but not the number you call when you need 4+ starts or something like that.

The high end prospect arms in the system aren't likely to pitch above AA this year, let alone to start the year. Guys like Quick, Bohorquez, Hill, and Soto. So there's a need for rotation depth at AAA.

So about 12 in the rotation 

12 hours ago, mark sills said:

when your on the 40 man you go to spring training, and guarantee if he wasn't on the 40 man he would of been a rule 5

I didn't realize the Twins had added Morris/needed to add him to protect him from the rule 5 last November.