I couldn’t make it to the desert to watch any Arizona Fall League action this year, which was very disappointing. I’m a huge baseball fan, who enjoys seeing young talent more than anything, and then watching these players develop. Last Fall I enjoyed getting a chance to see The Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year Gordon Beckham of the White Sox play in the AFL for the Peoria Javelinas.
Looking over this year’s stats I couldn’t help but notice Brent Morel. Brent is also a member of the White Sox organization, plays thirdbase, was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo. He hit .435 in the desert to lead the AFL in batting, with two homers, two doubles, & two stolen bases, in 62 at bats.
Since being drafted by the Sox this kid has done nothing but impress. After completing his career at Cal Poly where he hit .368, 18 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, & 60 RBIs in 56 games, Morel tore up rookie ball, hitting .375 in 64 at bats there, before being promoted to A Ball Kannapolis, where again he held his own, with a .297 average & power numbers of 6, 2, 6, in 172 at bats.
In 2009 Brent spent the entire season at Class A+ Winston-Salem, where he posted numbers of .281, 33, 1, 16, & 25 steals. He has always been a California kid, born in Bakersfield, so it took some adjusting getting used to the other coast, back home it rains 5 inches in a year, while in Winston-Salem you might see that in a day. This kid isn’t just a pretty bat as he was also rock solid in the field.
Morel is an all around athlete who starred at QB for his high school football team at 6’2″ 200 pounds, he could’ve gone on to have played football if he’d chosen to do so. Since then he’s added 20 pounds of muscle and appears ready to move up the ladder. Interestingly he’s always idolized Cal Ripken, so he gobbled up #8 as soon as it became available, like gobbling up a groundball.
Brent will most likely start out 2010 in Double A, but if all goes well the 22 year old from the Golden State might see some action at Triple A before the year’s out, and I’ll be waiting at the Cell to cheer on this talented youngster when he reaches the big leagues in the not too distant future.
You can watch Brent Morel along with the rest of the Peoria Javelinas when they battle the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the AFL Championship game, which will be telecast on the MLB Network, Saturday, November 21st, at 1:00 PM CST.