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Day two of the MLB amateur draft has arrived, and with it slightly less media fanfare and attention. But for the young men waiting to hear if their name will be selected, it’s no less exciting or nerve-wracking.
With their first two rounds of selection yesterday the Tigers opted for — no surprise here — a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher in Alex Faedo and hard-hitting first-baseman Reynaldo Rivera. For their third pick, our own Jay Markle speculated there were several catcher options the Tigers might be interested in, and they ended up singling out Washington Huskies catcher Joey Morgan.
Morgan ranked 9th overall in Baseball America’s list of available catchers and CBS Sports summarized his skills perfectly.
The junior backstop will likely stay at catcher even upon being drafted, as he possesses an above-average feel for the position, including the ability to gun down opposing base stealers. Morgan is certainly no slouch with the bat either, though, hitting .324/.427/.500 for the Huskies. His advanced approach at the dish is evidenced by the fact that he tallied almost as many walks (30) as strikeouts (35) this season. Morgan has gap power as opposed to home run power, though there are a few round trippers to be had for the polished collegian, who won't turn 21 years of age until after the draft.
Morgan is certainly an interesting pick for the Tigers. He’s not a high school arm, has college experience under his belt, and most importantly is not a pitcher. For a team looking to build long-term depth in the farm, a quality catcher like Morgan is a good selection they can try to develop, especially as he already seems to have a strong batting acumen.