Orioles RHP Keeler Morfe opens eyes in the DSL
Is Keeler Morfe the next young international prospect to watch?
Written by: Nick Stevens
One of the more fascinating aspects of following the Baltimore Orioles minor league system recently has been the rise of international signings, who are adding a whole new dimension to the organization.
Information is typically pretty hard to find on a lot of players in the Dominican Summer League, and many are as young as 16 years old. Most players at this level won’t ever get the chance to play in the Florida Complex league, and initial scouting reports on guys can drastically change as these kids turn into young men.
It’s still been a lot of fun to see the growth in talent at this level and now that the organization is providing video evidence of games, we can take the opportunity to get a much better look at some guys, match up pitch velo/batted ball data to early scouting reports and box scores, and try to identify some potential breakout players.
The first guy I wanted to quickly highlight and introduce readers to is RHP Keeler Morfe.
Morfe signed with the 2023 international free agent class, receiving the third-highest signing bonus in his class at $210,000 (SS Luis Almeyda was first at $2.3 million and SS Joshua Liranzo was second at $500,000). He’s from Caracas, Venezuela and was born within a week of when I graduated high school. It’s the one downside of following these DSL kids.
Per the Orioles immediately after the signing was made official, the scouting report on Morfe was that he touched 95 mph with sinking action and plus command, a sharp 81-83 mph slider, and a deceptive 85-87 mph changeup with plus command.
He debuted last year at 17 and it was a year of struggles, according to the box scores. Morfe made 9 starts, pitching to a 7.01 ERA with 25 K/21 BB through 25.2 IP. That came out to a 20% strikeout rate and a 16.8% BB rate. His FIP of 5.07 and xFIP of 5.69 don’t paint a much rosier picture.
Maybe, a little bit of patience with the youngest Baby Birds can be well worth the wait.
Morfe has now made 5 starts this season, pitching to a 0.56 ERA with 29 K/5 BB in 16 IP. He’s also seen his groundball rate jump from 53% last year to 60% this year.
I just watched him throw 4 no-hit innings against the DSL Padres, where he struck out 9. What impressed me the most was the velo. According to the broadcast, Morfe hit 99 mph 6 times, while sitting pretty comfortably at 97 mph. It also appears that he grabbed 100 mph one time in his final inning of work.
Wow.
The heights/weights listed for international players are comical (remember when Felix Bautista was in Bowie?) but Morfe is listed at 5’8”and 161 pounds. That’s a lot of heat coming from an arm who would be the shortest pitcher on the active Orioles roster by 4 inches.
Morfe was recently mentioned in Eric Longenhagen’s write-up over on FanGraphs of his top Orioles prospects list, getting a nod in the “Rookie Level Sleepers” section, calling him a “supreme athlete”.
Here’s what Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote about Keeler Morfe in his write-up last year:
“At 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, Morfe doesn’t immediately stick out, but he’s a 16-year-old who has excellent arm speed to produce a fastball that sits in the low 90s and can reach 95 mph. Given his arm speed and what should be more strength coming given his relatively skinny frame, there could be another jump for his fastball, too. Signed for $207,500, Morfe doesn’t have much effort in his delivery to generate that velocity, which helps him repeat his delivery well for his age to throw strikes, and he shows feel for a slider as well. “
It’s still very early and a lot can change for the now 18-year-old arm. But if you weren’t familiar with Keeler Morfe before today, now you are. He should be a fun follow as he continues to develop and comes stateside in the near future.