KYLE MORGAN

8/8/86; '08 36th; Univ. of San Francisco
L/L; 6-1, 220

Level	BA	OBP	SA	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	SB	CS
2005 NJCAA	.313	.371	.528	144	11	1	6	10	26	7	0
2006 NJCAA	.363	.433	.595	190	10	2	10	22	26	11	7
2007 NCAA	.267	.313	.400	30	1	0	1	2	7	0	1
2008 NCAA	.298	.383	.466	208	15	1	6	25	48	6	1
2008 A-	.235	.319	.403	119	9	1	3	12	37	0	0
2008 R	.148	.143	.222	27	0	1	0	0	5	0	0
2009 A	.296	.382	.541	159	12	0	9	20	38	1	0
2009 A-	.224	.257	.448	67	4	1	3	1	14	3	0

Morgan played JC ball at Bakersfield for two years, then sat on the bench at Long Beach State for a year before transferring to San Francisco. He was a solid hitter there but did nothing to mark him as a prospect. He signed quickly after the draft and the Pirates assigned him initially to the GCL, where he didn't hit. They promoted him to State College anyway and, after hitting 163/212/286 in July, he pounded the ball at a 327/433/571 clip in August. The power was especially surprising. For the season he had a huge reverse platoon split, with a .988 OPS against LHPs in limited action and .671 against RHPs. He moved to firstbase during spring training and returned to State College to start 2009. After a mediocre few weeks there, he moved up to West Virginia when the Power needed a player and suddenly started pounding the ball, eventually sharing the 1B and DH jobs with Calvin Anderson. He generates significant power with good bat speed. He also once again had a reverse platoon split, posting an OPS of 1.197 against LHPs and .846 against RHPs. Defensively, he played like a converted outfielder, although he may improve with experience. He should be at Bradenton in 2010, where he can fight the ghost of Jon Benick.

Return to First Basemen