Padres’ Adrian Morejon Shows Advanced Feel

PHOENIX—Padres lefthander Adrian Morejon has yet to throw his first official pitch as a pro, but his performance in instructional league and spring training foreshadows what could be a very auspicious debut this season.

The 18-year-old Cuban signed with the Padres last July, but his contract was structured as a 2017 deal. That meant Morejon didn’t pitch in the minors last summer. He probably won’t break camp with a Padres affiliate this year either because the Padres have kept him on a tight leash this spring. He has pitched in one- and two-inning stints as he readies for a likely May assignment at low Class A Fort Wayne.

But those short stints this spring have been impressive. In a recent outing, Morejon sat at 94 mph and touched 95 once with a fastball he worked effectively to both his arm and glove side. He set hitters up with fastballs on the outer half, then busted them inside with fastballs in on their hands.

His fastball set up a changeup that was arguably even more impressive. Morejon throws two different changeups. His traditional low-80s change  shows excellent fade as it dives off the outer half of the plate and away from righthanded hitters. But he also mixed in an 82 mph knuckle change that cut and dived when he worked in on the hands of righthanders. Both changeups showed excellent arm speed and deception. Morejon’s delivery has very minimal effort and he has a clean arm action.

Morejon did overthrow a couple of pitches, but his command and control looks advanced for a young lefthander. When he was in Cuba and in workouts, he showed a promising curveball. Scouts who have seen him this spring have noted that it is well behind his two other offerings, which both show 70 potential on the 20-80 scouting scale. In short stints, he had little need to use his breaking ball and has not shown much feel for it this March.

Improving the consistency of his breaking ball is on the to-do list for Morejon, as is proving he can maintain his stuff and his command in longer outings. But he has demonstrated that ability in Cuba. He was the MVP of the 15U World Cup in 2014 and the star of Cuba’s 15U National League before he left the island to sign with the Padres.

When you consider Morejon has just turned 18, making him the equivalent in age of a draft-eligible U.S. high school senior, it’s clear that Baseball America’s No. 98 prospect could be climbing further up that list in the months and years to come.