Tre’ Morgan is one of the most promising prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Drafted 88th overall last year out of LSU, the 22-year-old left-handed-hitting first baseman slashed .324/.408/.483 with 10 home runs and a 158 wRC+ in 437 plate appearances between three levels this season. Moreover, he’s only upped his profile by continuing to rake in the Arizona Fall League. As our lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen wrote on Tuesday, Morgan “is making a case to be elevated into the back of this offseason’s Top 100 list.”
Morgan — a New Orleans native with a well-deserved reputation for being both personable and thoughtful about his craft — talked hitting prior to taking the field for the AFL’s Mesa Solar Sox earlier this month.
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David Laurila: Who are you as a hitter? In other words, how would you describe your style and approach?
Tre’ Morgan: “As a a hitter, I’m definitely contact over power. Swinging and missing is something that just shouldn’t happen too often. That’s how I was taught to hit, by my dad really. If I run into one, it sometimes goes pretty far, but I kind of stick to gap-to-gap, trying to play with the barrel.”
Laurila: What is your father’s background?
Morgan: “He played football, mostly — he played college football and had a couple of tryouts for the NFL — but he taught me everything I know about baseball. He said that he was better than me [at baseball] when I was growing up.”
Laurila: You said that the ball sometimes goes far when you run into one. What have you had in terms of exit velocities and distances?
Morgan: “I hit one this year that was 110 [mph] and went 440 [feet]. It was to straight center on a hanging curveball. I think that’s the farthest one I’ve hit in my career. I hit a couple of nice ones in college, but that was with a metal bat. The 440 is the one I hang my hat on a little bit.”
Laurila: Have you changed much since coming to pro ball? For instance, are your stance and swing any different from when you signed?
Morgan: “You would see a completely different hitter. The way I hit now is closer to how I hit my freshman year of college. I kind of reverted back to that base and built from there. I didn’t really like my last two years; my setup and process weren’t comfortable for me, so I went back to what felt comfortable and built off of that.”
Laurila: What specifically did you go back to?
Morgan: “I’d say it’s a lot of rhythm, movement, kind of always fluid. And I go with a leg kick now. I didn’t have the leg kick my sophomore and junior year; I was kind of in the ground already. My freshman year, I’d used the leg kick, and I brought that to pro ball.”
Laurila: Leg kick aside, how would you describe your timing mechanism?
Morgan: “When I’m getting in my setup, I’m kind of leaning into my front leg to stay balanced, and my hands are finding the spot that they want to lock into.”
Laurila: What you’re showing me is basically your hands up in front of your shoulder, with a little bit of a bat wiggle…
Morgan: “Yes. It wiggles for a second and then kind of locks into the place it wants to before I start my hitting movement.”
Laurila: What I’m seeing suggests there might be a little bit of a bat wrap…
Morgan: “So, I had a really bad bat wrap in high school. When I hit, my bat would point all the way… like, I would coil all the way back. I mean, that worked when I was facing lower velocities, but as the velocities get up you’ve got to simplify that. So, that’s something I’ve changed. The bat wrap is still there, but it’s way less.”
Laurila: When exactly did you revert back to what you’d been doing as a freshman — the rhythm and fluidity of how you get your swing off?
Morgan: “It was really spring training of this year. It was kind of figuring out, ‘All right, what is going to work for me? What is going to get me to the big leagues, hitting-wise?’ It wasn’t running into homers and kind of hoping for the best. That wouldn’t get me there, because it’s not the way I hit. What works for me is more of, ‘Hit the ball hard, consistently.’ That’s how I get my best.”
Laurila: Why had you gotten away from what works best?
Morgan: “I was trying to hit more homers and extra-base hits. That was kind of where the foot down came from. It was always being on time, ready to hit when I wanted to, and it resulted in more contact, but the contact wasn’t really quality. That’s why I went away from that.”
Laurila: That almost sounds counterintuitive. You were trying to hit for more power, but you weren’t driving the ball as well…
Morgan: “Yeah, because when your foot’s down you’re ready to hit everything. My best trait as a hitter is that I can pretty much touch anything around the zone, and I couldn’t simplify my zone. I was up there grounding out to short because it was a strike.”
Laurila: Why do you think it took a few years to figure that out?
Morgan: “It’s just the fact that striking out, to me, is one of the most embarrassing things in baseball. Having that in the back of my mind got me away from taking strikes. I’ve gotten better at it, for sure. Way better. I’m OK with strike one and strike two, because my two-strike approach is lethal. Honestly, I feel like I hit better with two strikes than I do earlier in the count. Having that weapon in my back pocket makes me feel more comfortable.”
Laurila: How would you describe your two-strike approach?
Morgan: “I choke up, I spread out, and I kind of just rock. My hands are already kind of locked into position, so I just rock back and throw my hands at the ball.”
Laurila: How does that impact your exit velocities? Are you still able to drive the ball?
Morgan: “Oh, yeah, My exit velos are more consistent with two strikes, honestly. It’s nothing crazy. I don’t get to the 108s, the 110s, or anything like that, but it’s consistently around 100.”
Laurila: Why don’t you do that all the time?
Morgan: “Because there’s no flight in it. It’s not a whole lot of rhythm, it’s more of a war. At that point, the mindset changes to, ‘I’m battling.’ Before two strikes, I’m in the driver’s seat.”
Laurila: Is hitting fun?
Morgan: “Oh, yeah. I kind of have this thing where I’m better at defense than I am hitting, but when it’s time to hit… I mean, that’s why you play baseball. Defense is cool, but when you step into the box it’s you versus that guy on the mound. I love that matchup every time.”
Laurila: When I’ve asked that question to other hitters, the answer has often been some variation of, “It’s fun when you’re going well.”
Morgan: “Yes, but I feel there is a beauty in when you’re struggling. That’s when you find out what kind of person you are. I’ve gone through a couple of rough patches in pro ball, and looking at yourself in the mirror you’re like, ‘You still believe you’re him, right?’ Then it’s like, ‘Yeah.’ That’s why you keep showing up every day. You’re not ready to quit. Even though you’re 0-for-20, you’re still going to put the cleats on. You’re going to go out there thinking, ‘OK, today it shifts. I’m going to go 10 for my next 10.’ So, yeah, hitting is fun. It’s always fun.”
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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Colson Montgomery, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis
