If you have been following the Nats farm system at all this season, you would know Yohandy Morales is having a monster year. The corner infielder is hitting .303 with 21 homers and a .930 OPS on the season in AAA. He has been one of the most productive hitters in the system, but Paul Toboni has been hesitant to call him up.
When you look at some of the underlying data, Toboni’s reasons make some sense. Morales has a very low in zone contact rate and was hitting the ball on the ground over 50% of the time for most of the season. Despite the big surface level stats, that profile is tough to make work in the MLB.
However, I think the time is right for Morales to get the call to the big leagues. Morales has been striking out less and elevating the ball more lately. As I said, his GB rate has been over 50% for most of the season, but that is starting to come down. Right now, his season GB rate is 49.3%. I remember checking a couple months ago, and that number was closer to 54%.
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Morales is also striking out a lot less so far in July. He only has 6 strikeouts in 30 at bats so far this month. It is a small sample, but it really does feel like Morales is starting to make the changes necessary for him to get a big league call-up.
One thing that Morales has done in July that is not a new phenomenon is mash homers. He already has four homers this month, including a two homer game the other day. Morales has the most homers of any Nats prospect, and just has highly impressive raw power.
Morales has high end power to all fields. Despite not pulling the ball in the air that much, he is still able to access his pop. The 6’3 225 pound slugger consistently posts excellent exit velocities. With Morales getting the ball off the ground more, this recent power surge makes a ton of sense.
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With these improvements to his process, the time is right for a call up. There is not an everyday role for Morales, but I think there are ways to create regular enough playing time. Calling up Morales and sending down Andres Chaparro just feels like a pretty straightforward move right now.
I get that the front office will want Morales to be playing more than Chaparro has, but it is not like Morales is some top 50 prospect who needs everyday reps. He can be Luis Garcia Jr’s platoon partner while also getting some starts at third base and DH every once in a while.
Blake Butera has shown he can get creative to give guys playing time. He can do the same for Morales. Right now Andres Chaparro and his .157 batting average stick out like a sore thumb. Chaparro is getting pinch hit opportunities in big spots for the red hot Garcia and just not coming through.
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I understand that Garcia is not great against lefties, but despite his reputation as a lefty masher, Chaparro has not hit them well either. It would be much easier to stomach taking Garcia out of games if Morales was the guy pinch hitting instead.
There is not a whole lot that Morales needs to prove at the AAA level. One potential reason they might be holding off on this move is that they would have to find a 40-man roster spot for Morales. However, the slugger is Rule-5 eligible this offseason, so they will have to put him on the 40-man soon anyways. There is also no shortage of potential DFA candidates on this roster.
With how Morales has hit all season, it only feels right to give him an opportunity. His surface level numbers are outstanding, and now he is improving some of the underlying stuff that may have been holding him back. It is time for Paul Toboni to give Yohandy Morales a shot, and I hope it happens as soon as possible. The young man has earned it in every possible way.
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