by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of Miami Herald.
The Pittsburgh Pirates own the #1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft which is scheduled for July 9th-July 11th in Seattle, WA. This draft could be the final piece of GM Ben Cherington’s puzzle to catapult the Bucs into a yearly contender.
In the next few weeks, Draft 412 will showcase the top prospects coming out in 2023.
Name- Yohandy Morales
Pos-3B B-R T-R
Team- Miami,Fla
HT/WT- 6’4” 225 lbs.
Born- 10/9/2001
Home – Miami, Fl
A former high school shortstop, Morales eventually outgrew the position and moved to the hot corner. He was considered a top 200 Florida prospect in the shortened 2020 MLB Draft but after he went undrafted, he committed to Miami, Fl. His father, Andy Morales, played for the Cuban national baseball team, and he played in the minors for both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
As a freshman in 2021, he started right away and hit .284 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI’s. After a rough summer in the Cape Cod League, Morales had a stellar sophomore season putting up a .329 18 home runs and 59 RBI’s in sixty games for the Hurricanes. In the opening game of the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, he hit three home runs in a game vs. Canisius. This season, he has taken his game to the next level and is now considered a top 20 talent in this class. Morales finished the season with a .408 average and hit 20 home runs and knocked in 70 runs.
Morales is a power hitting machine that can drive the ball to all fields. An aggressive batter, he has proven he can cut down his swing when needed. Overall, Morales is an athletic third baseman with a cannon for an arm. He has quick hands and makes good use of his feet in the field. With his frame and some added weight, he could be moved across the field to first base.
Morales does have a long swing with some mechanics that need to be tweaked. He has a lot of moving parts in his swing from beginning to end. He doesn’t yet consistently find the barrel and he will get into funks where he lets his aggressiveness get the best of him, chasing pitches out of the strike zone.
Morales can be compared to ex-MLB third baseman, Mark Reynolds. Reynolds, too, was drafted as a third baseman and eventually moved to first base over time. Both have similar swings.
Final Analysis
Yohandy Morales is a nice mid to late first round pick for a team in need of hitting. Morales may be one of the fastest to reach the majors in this part of the draft.
Round 1- Top 20 / #12 on Draft 412’s big board.