Cuban right-hander Luis Danys Morales was promoted to Class A Stockton Ports a few days ago, he was promoted from Oakland Athletics Complex League Team. With ACL Athletics he pitched in seven games, six of them as a starter. During his tine the league he had a record of 0-2 and in 29 innings he posted a 3.15 ERA. He also struck out 27 opponents (12.15 S09) and only issued four walks (1.80 BB9). Opponents were hitting a paltry .189 against the young hurler at the time of his promotion and he had a sterling 0.90 WHIP.
Morales was the first of the twelve players to defect at the Hermosillo/Obregón Sub-23 World Championship, only minutes after touching in México. The native of Sancti Spíritus signed with Oakland for a bonus that was around 3 million dollars, a record for a Cuban pitcher after this new international signing system was established, surpassing the 2.8 M of Sandy Gastón with the Tampa Bay Rays.
☑️ El RHP Luis Dany Morales (20) fue asignado a Clase A (Stockton Ports) desde ACL Athletics.
👉🏻En la Arizona Complex League no pudo ganar (0-2), pero le batearon tan solo para .189, dejó efectividad de 3.15 (20.0 IP; 7 ER) y ponchó a 27 bateadores.
✓WHIP: 0.90
✓K/9: 12.15 pic.twitter.com/DqjTbvIJ4t— Miguel Rodríguez Hernández (@MiguelRH98) July 25, 2023
Morales pitched in Cuba’s Under-18 league in 2020, there he posted an ERA of 0.87, with 135 strikeouts (record) and 18 walks in 82.2 innings. He led the league in strikeouts , posting 48 strikeouts more than his closest rival and ranked fourth in ERA; He made his debut with Sancti Spíritus in the 60th National Series.
Teams typically don’t pay a lot of money for young international pitchers, but in Luis Danys’ case he’s already in his 20s, older and more advanced than the 16- and 17-year-olds that usually sign during the period.
Morales is a very athletic pitcher, his fastball reached 97 miles per hour during his showcases, but scouts think it jump up in mph as he matures physically. His best breaking pitch is the slider, he has a lot of control over it and throws it at good speed; it also uses change and curve. While in Mexico, the pitcher trained with Maels Rodríguez, a former Cuban national team star pitcher and Olympian that is best known for his 100 mph fastball. Rodríguez has helped many pitchers in his “100 MPH Club” academy and aided Luis Dany in perfecting his pitching repertoire.
El prospecto cubano 🇨🇺 Luis Danys Morales (20) debutó en el nivel Rookie ayer (Dominican Summer League).
Tiró pitcheos de 99 y 100 MPH.
En 1.2 innings ponchó a 3 bateadores. pic.twitter.com/Wz2TzvBt1F
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) June 8, 2023