Adam Christopher Morgan (born February 27, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs.
After growing up and playing high school baseball in Marietta, Georgia, he enrolled at the University of Alabama, where, as his father had done, he played college baseball. The Phillies drafted him in the third round of the 2011 MLB draft. Morgan was among the top pitching prospects in the organization until a torn rotator cuff caused him to miss all of the 2014 season. He made his major league debut in 2015. He became a relief pitcher in 2017.
Early life
Morgan was born to Wiley and Karen Morgan in Tampa, Florida, and has a younger brother named Grant. He attended Kell High School ('08) in Marietta, Georgia, where he played baseball on a team that went to the state playoffs three times. He also played on various travel teams, including in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
Morgan attended the University of Alabama, where he played college baseball for the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team. His father had played college baseball as a pitcher at the university. With Alabama, he developed a "devastating slider" that contributed to high strikeout rates throughout his career. He notched the first complete game of his collegiate career in an outing against Georgia Tech in the 2010 NCAA Baseball Regional. After the 2010 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star. His junior year, he formed part of a tandem atop Alabama's starting rotation that helped lead the Crimson Tide back to the NCAA Super Regional.
Professional career
Philadelphia Phillies
Minor leagues
The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Morgan in the third round of the 2011 MLB draft and signed him for a $250,000 signing bonus, and assigned him to the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Class A-Short Season New York-Pennsylvania League, with whom he compiled a 3–3 win–loss record and a 2.01 earned run average (ERA) and 43 strikeouts in 53 innings. Advancing to the Clearwater Threshers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2012, Morgan made 20 starts and struck out 10.24 batters per nine innings (5th in the league) with 28 walks and 140 strikeouts (2nd) in 123 innings, and a second-best in the league 5.00 strikeouts/walk ratio. That earned him a promotion to the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League in August with whom he was 4–1 with a 3.53 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 35 innings.
After notching an "impressive" performance with Reading, the Phillies invited him to spring training in 2013. A column written years later noted, "At 22, he was seen as one of the most advanced pitching prospects in the organization, and a call-up to the big club seemed imminent for sometime in 2013 ... However, as happens with pitchers, Morgan suffered a setback." Pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the Class AAA International League, after pitching to a record of 2–7 with a 4.04 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 79 innings, Morgan suffered a torn rotator cuff in his left throwing shoulder in May 2013, which required surgery; he did not undergo surgery, however, until January, and thus missed the 2014 season. After the 2014 season, the Phillies added Morgan to their 40-man roster.
Entering 2015 fully healthy with improved mechanics, Morgan looked to re-establish himself in the IronPigs' starting rotation before a potential call-up to the major leagues later in the season. With Lehigh Valley, Morgan posted a record of 0–6 with a 4.74 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 68 innings in 13 starts. His mediocre statistics notwithstanding, minor league talent evaluator Matt Winkelman commented that Morgan's "velocity [is] almost back and slider is almost there."