NYJER MORGAN

7/2/80; '02 33rd; Walla Walla (WA) CC
L/L; 6-0, 180

Level	BA	OBP	SA	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	SB	CS
2003 A-	.343	.439	.399	268	7	4	0	33	44	26	17
2004 A	.255	.358	.337	514	16	7	4	53	120	55	16
2005 A+	.286	.328	.357	252	12	3	0	11	40	25	10
2006 AA	.306	.359	.393	219	6	5	1	15	28	21	11
2006 A+	.303	.390	.360	228	7	3	0	20	40	38	11
2007 NL	.299	.359	.430	107	3	4	1	9	19	7	3
2007 AAA	.305	.374	.354	164	4	2	0	15	28	26	7
2007 R	.308	.438	.538	13	0	0	1	2	3	0	0

Morgan is a part of the Pirates' stable of speedy, slap-hitting OFs. His primary scholastic sport was hockey, so he came to the Pirates with limited baseball experience. After signing too late to play in 2002, he finished second in the NY-Penn League in both batting and OBP in 2003, and was named the league's 8th best prospect. His hitting fell off significantly at Hickory, although he continued to get on base at a fairly good rate. His walk rate was decent and he enhanced his OBP by getting hit with 33 pitches. He missed the first half of 2005 due to shoulder surgery. He struggled after reporting to Lynchburg, then returned in 2006 and improved a great deal, in particular his OBP. Promoted to AA at mid-season, he continued to hit over .300 with just enough walks to post a good OBP. He'll have increasing trouble keeping the OBP up, though, as he has no power at all, so pitchers won't hesitate to challenge him. He's continued to help himself by getting plunked (18 times overall in 2006), a practice he seemed to promote by sometimes wearing baggy uniform jerseys. He doesn't have a meaningful platoon split.

Morgan is an outstanding bunter and a good defensive CF. He's very fast and, after posting a poor SB % in his first year, he improved his skills considerably at Hickory. Since then, his SB % seems to take a hit at each new level, but he eventually adjusts. Unfortunately, he injured a hamstring at the end of 2006 and missed the AA playoffs.

The Pirates added Morgan to the 40-man roster in the off-season and he started the season at Indianapolis. He got off to a good start, but broke a finger in mid-May and didn't return until August. It was a costly injury, as he might have gotten some playing time in the majors after Chris Duffy went down. As it was, he was called up in September and Jim Tracy quickly fell in love with him, benching the very hot Nate McLouth and installing Morgan as the everyday center fielder. Morgan got a lot of attention due to several highlight-reel catches, although he sometimes made the plays look harder than they really were by taking bad routes. He showed great speed on the bases and has boundless enthusiasm, but he hurt the Pirates several times with baserunning blunders that resulted from over-aggressiveness. He hit well, showing some power and decent plate discipline, and not appearing overmatched at any time. It'd be a good idea to remember, though, that Morgan reached the majors at age 27 and is almost certainly about as good as he'll ever be. The team has been through this routine before with speedy centerfielders—Duffy and Tike Redman—who got off to good starts in the majors, but whose minor league track records did not suggest they were more than marginal prospects. If Tracy hadn't been fired, Morgan would almost certainly have gone into spring training as the regular CF. Fortunately, the team's new management showed a greater understanding of McLouth's abilities and gave him the job after he outplayed Morgan in the spring. Morgan also made the team and will serve as the 4th outfielder.

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