Road to the Show: Eli Morgan

The Cleveland Indians have the youngest team in baseball. I am showcasing each of these player’s journeys in a series called “Road to the Show.” Each week will be another player’s story in no particular order.

Due to the absence of Minor League play in 2020 many fans are not familiar with the guys who’ve joined the Tribe. I feel that often we see a new young face in the roster and don’t know enough about how they got there. The grind to get to the Major League’s is difficult. Each player’s story is unique. 

The move:

The 25-year-old pitcher made his Major League debut on May 28 against Toronto. The weather that day was less than ideal. I’ve given Morgan the nickname “Monsoon Morgan” as the winds gusted over 40mph that game and sheets of rain blew through the ballpark. He pitched 2.2 innings giving up eight hits and surrendered six runs. 

Morgan had a better outing in his second start on June 17 against the Orioles. He went 3.2 inning allowing five hits and giving up three runs. The weather conditions were ideal, but this outing wasn’t without incident. Morgan took a hit ball, at around 102 mph, off his elbow. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured.

The right-hander built on his third start. Morgan faced the Cubs and retired 10 consecutive batters to start off. He allowed a solo shot from Kris Bryant in the fourth inning but settled back in to retire the next five hitters. Morgan started the sixth gave up three straight hits and Nick Sandlin came in for relief. Morgan had five innings pitched with four hits, four runs and nine strikeouts.

 Indians’ Skipper Terry Francona had this to say on Morgan after the game:

- "I’ll tell ya what man … he pitched his heart out. He pumped strikes, different speeds, had a bunch of strikeouts.”

 Morgan felt that “getting ahead of hitters” was the key to his outing. He identified “getting through the order for a third time” is an area where he will need to focus for improvement. 

On June 28, Morgan recorded his first career MLB win in his fifth start against the Tigers. He went five innings, giving up four runs while striking out four. 

The Journey:

Morgan grew up in southern California. He pitched at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in Rolling Hills, California. In 2014, during his senior year, he carried a 1.23 ERA. That season led to Morgan being Bay League Co-Pitcher of the Year as well as All-CIF First team. He wasn’t drafted in MLB’s 2014 draft out of high school. 

He attended Gonzaga University where he pitched for three seasons (2015-2017). During his sophomore and junior years, he was First Team All-West Coast Conference. In his final year at Gonzaga, he went 10-2 with a 2.86 ERA and recorded the second most strikeouts (138) ever in the University’s history. Morgan’s college career landed him third in strikeouts and second in wins for Gonzaga. In 2017, Morgan was added to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. He was also one of just four pitchers in the country with multiple 15-strikeout games. 

The Indians picked Morgan in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB draft. He pitched 35 innings that season for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers with a 1.03 ERA and a 3-2 record. 

In 2018, Morgan started the season with the Lake County Captains. He advanced to pitch for the Lynchburg Hillcats in May of the season. Morgan had 27 starts between the two teams that year. He went 9-7 with a 3.27 ERA and fanned 156 hitters. 

He started 2019 off with the Hillcats then was promoted to the Akron Rubber Ducks. Morgan was named an All-Star as a member of the Rubber Ducks. He made one start in Triple-A that year for the Columbus Clippers but finished the year in Akron. Morgan went 9-6 carrying a 3.39 ERA with 146 strikeouts in a little over 140 innings.

 Cleveland added Morgan to their 40-man roster in November of 2020. 

In the spring of 2021, Morgan didn’t get any work in exhibition. This was due to minor right arm fatigue he had experienced in the offseason. Morgan’s throwing progression wasn’t up to speed with this setback, and he spent time in extended spring training.  

Morgan began this season with the Clippers. His major league debut on May 28 was one of significance for the Lake Erie Captains. Morgan became the 100th player in the Captains’ franchise history to get called to the majors. 

Prior to his MLB debut, he had four starts in Columbus. Morgan went 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA over 17.1 innings. Over his career 332.3 innings in the minors, Morgan struck out a remarkable 373 batters.

Morgan’s pitch strength is his unique change-up. The effectiveness of this pitch earned him the Best Change-up in Cleveland’s Farm System by Baseball America two years in a row. 

Due to injuries within the Indians’ starting pitching rotation, Morgan has a chance to shine. His next start will only be his fifth so there isn’t a large sample size of what he’s doing in the majors. However, if he can carry his solidness from college and the minors into the big leagues, he’ll pass the ultimate test. 

To date with the Indians, Morgan carries a 9.37 ERA through 16.1 innings pitched. He’s allowed 23 hits, 17 runs and struck out 19 batters.