Charlie Morton...Braves top SP prospect

[CBAreject]

So I'm up here in Durham, and Charlie Morton just 1-hit the Bulls through 8 innings, striking out 13 and walking 1.

Charlie Morton is a 6'4", 24-year-old righthander who came into his own at the end of last season with AA Pearl. He is now 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA with AAA-Richmond. In 11 starts and 1 relief appearance, he has struck out 68 while walking only 24 in 74 innings, holding opponents to a .179 batting average.

I've been following Braves minor league baseball for over 15 years, and I have to say I do not believe there has been a pitcher to come through Richmond and dominate like this in that time. The closest thing was the 9 brilliant starts Kevin Millwood put together when he was promoted at the end of the 1997 season, but they weren't quite this good. Granted, Millwood was just 22 and Morton is 24, but they are similar stories. Both were big, strong righthanders who had mediocre minor league careers when a switch seemed to be flipped at some point and they became unhittable.

Morton would be in a great position to pitch for the big league club had Jorge Campillo not pitched so well in his first 3 starts. However, Campillo had a shaky outing today, and ieither he or Jo-Jo Reyes falter, I wouldn't be surprised to see Morton get a call up.

Even if Morton doesn't break in this season, the trio of Morton, Reyes, and Jurrjens could give the Braves a strong young starting core for the next 5+ years.

[DrReality]

That's some of the best news from the Braves I've heard in a long time. I wonder what their time table is to bring him up?

[CBAreject]

Actually, the Braves were high on Morton after he blew through the top-prospect-heavy fall league. He dominated in a start where Bobby Cox and Frank Wren were in attendance.

In a conversation with Dave O'Brien of the AJC last night, Wren brought up Morton and his performance at Durham which had already filtered back. He said he'd be up the next time there's need, which essentially means the next time a starter goes down or falters.

Campillo has been too brilliant to take him out of the rotation just yet, but he's been having trouble going more than 4 or 5 innings due to blisters. Reyes is actually a heck of a prospect himself, and he's finally starting to string a few quality starts together (note his 7 inning 2 hitter, albeit a loss, against Milwaukee). Campillo is the one to watch, as he's not likely a long-term solution in the rotation, more of a nice story in the short term.