A's No. 4 Prospect Turns in the Best Start of His Young Career

Sunday's game was against the Corpus Christi Hooks, the same club he faced in the opening game of the series on Tuesday. In that start, they touched him up for four runs on five hits over five innings of work, with the righty walking two and striking out four.

It's not abnormal for a pitcher to struggle in one outing, then shut them down the next time out, or vice versa, when they make two starts against the same team in the span of a few days. But Morales has made seven starts this season, and now three of them have come against the Hooks. He is showing that he can make adjustments from game-to-game.

The first start against Corpus Christi was back on April 17, and the 22-year-old went six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks, and struck out eight. This start, and yesterday's, are his best outings of the year given the lack of traffic on the bases and the sheer number of punch-outs.

On the year, Morales is now 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP, accruing 45 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work. With a line like that, he could become one of the A's best international development stories in years.

While the club has held press conferences after signing Shintaro Fujinami, and before him, Hiroyuki Nakajima, they haven't had a ton of success on the international market. Robert Puason signed for $5 million as a big-time prospect in 2019, and after flailing in the minors for the past few years, he is in the process of converting to pitching in the Arizona Complex League.

While Morales is off to a solid start in 2025, there is still a long way to go before he'll be in the A's rotation. Last season, trade deadline acquisition Mason Barnett impressed in his Double-A debut posting a 2.61 ERA in 41.1 innings with the A's affiliate to finish out the year. This season he has a 6.38 ERA across 36.2 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas.

That said, if Morales keeps on pitching like he has been through seven starts, he should see a mid-season promotion around the All-Star break as a test at the next level. If he continues to impress, then he could have an outside shot at joining the A's rotation out of camp next spring. That's the quickest timeline he could be on.

The other one would involve some struggles, making adjustments, and waiting for an opportunity to present itself in West Sacramento in the next couple of years.