Athletics Calling Up No. 3 Prospect Luis Morales

The 22-year-old can reach 99 mph on his fastball and will likely join the club's bullpen tomorrow alongside Eduarniel Nuñez, who was just acquired this morning in the Mason Miller trade. Our own Jason Burke reported that Nuñez would be joining the A's bullpen, while Gallegos got the scoop on Morales joining the roster.

The assumption is that both players will be in the bullpen, and Morales has transitioned to being a multi-inning reliever of late, likely to keep his innings under control. The A's also have a spot open in the rotation that will need to be filled with Sears' departure, so he's an option there too. We should know more about the team's plans on Friday.

Morales has a lengthy 6-foot-3 frame, and comes equipped with a 60-grade fastball, 55-grade slider, and is graded a 55 overall. The right-hander was the top pitching prospect out of the 2023 International signing class, and landed with the A's. Since then, he's been ranked one of the top overall prospects in the entire A's farm system.

After starting his 2025 campaign in Double-A Midland, he earned a promotion to Las Vegas, and has been pretty solid for the Aviators since the move up. Out of Morales' 15 appearances in Vegas, he's only started in six of them, and has otherwise been a long reliever.

Some scouts worry that Morales could be a bullpen arm in the future given some command issues, and view his high velocity as a reason that could be a seamless transition, but the A's will surely work to stretch him out as a starting pitcher.

In Morales' 47 innings of work in Las Vegas, he posted a 4.40 ERA (which is quite impressive in the hitter-friendly Las Vegas Ballpark), and walked 20 opposing hitters while punching out 54. That 54-20 strikeout to walk ratio is impressive from a guy who was deemed to have control issues early in his career.

It's unclear whether the A's will immediately give Morales longer relief outings or short appearances, given that we're unsure of what sort of potential innings limit they're working with for 2025.

With Luis Morales set to make his MLB Debut this weekend, it could likely allow the A's to promote their number 2 prospect, Gage Jump, up to Triple-A. The southpaw has been dealing for the Rockhounds in Midland, and is due for a promotion soon.

Following the Miller trade, and now the callup of Luis Morales, it looks like we are getting closer to seeing what the outline of this future A's roster will look like.