Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: #10 Cody Morris

It's a busy time of year for baseball with Spring Training games starting this week and battles for roster spots about to begin. Beyond that, it's also prime projection season, with outlets like FanGraphs and Baseball America releasing their WAR projections and more for the 2023 season. Projection systems provide a very valuable source of talking points for people like myself, they spark endless debates that can rile up fanbases and writers alike, but the computers aren't without their flaws.Cleveland outperformed every possible projection in 2022 with 17 rookies en route to the AL Central Division title, so the question becomes "can they do it again?" The Guardians signed first baseman Josh Bell as their big free agent play to improve on their 92 wins a season ago. The pitching is back and healthy to start 2023, but beyond that, there isn't enough data to really support that 2022 was much more than a fluke for Cleveland. So can they improve from within?As we enter the top 10 prospects of Cleveland's farm system there are multiple players that can make an impact in the club in 2023 and beyond, including my 10th-ranked prospect right-handed pitcher Cody Morris. Morris, 26, was a 7th-round pick by the Guardians out of South Carolina in the 2018 MLB draft. He honored his commitment to the Gamecocks after being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2015 but elected not to sign. Morris was a two-year starter for South Carolina, making 26 starts in total, the majority of which came in a much healthier sophomore season. While not a very decorated college pitcher Morris proved extremely effective while on the mound posting a career 3.52 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 122.2 innings pitched in college.Morris brought that effectiveness to Cleveland and has refined it even further with limited live reps. Morris entered Spring Training in 2022 as the favorite to be the club's swingman and emergency starter out of camp. He suffered a shoulder strain in Spring that forced him to spend most of 2022 rehabbing, but he was a force to be reckoned with when he returned. Morris appeared in nine games (six starts) between the Complex League and Triple-A while rehabbing last season. Over 21.1 innings pitched in those games Morris registered a 1.69 ERA and just six walks (7.5%) to 39 strikeouts (48.8%). Meaning that, feasibly, you could flip a coin in the dugout before going to face Cody Morris and get a decent idea of whether or not you were going to strike out, if heads meant K and tails meant anything else.[embed]https://twitter.com/JL_Baseball/status/1557208961383890944?s=20[/embed]He didn't miss a step when he was eventually called up to make his Major League debut once his rehab assignment was completed. Morris appeared in seven games (five starts) for the Guardians spanning 23.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.28, 12 walks (12%) to 23 strikeouts (23%), and a 4.34 FIP. While sample sizes were small there were some encouraging numbers. In his seven games, Morris generated a SwStr% of 13.9%, a number that would have ranked seventh among qualified pitchers, one spot ahead of Shane Bieber's 13.8%.Morris utilizes a fastball that sits 93-96, an upper 70s curveball, a low 80s changeup and the slider/cutter hybrid the Guardians have been teaching to multiple pitchers in their system. Stuff isn't a problem for Morris, but the fastball and changeup are far and away his best weapons, posing consistent problems to opposing hitters. The cutter/slider offering appears to be a new-ish offering from Morris but could be an additional weapon against righties, though the changeup brings the whole arsenal together.[embed]https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1581823644967505921?s=20[/embed]Morris possesses well above-average stuff and he's flashed it since his college days. While the arsenal has served him well and he has shown exceptional command, Morris has been seriously lacking in the fabled sixth tool of any baseball player; health. The best ability is availability after all, but Morris has yet to throw more than 90 innings in a single season as a professional. Despite that, he's worked his way to his professional debut and will be competing for the final bullpen spot out of Spring Training.It's already been reported that Morris is playing from behind with a lat injury, but he's not expected to be shut down or miss significant time as of yet. Ideally, Morris can work his way into some live game action in the back half of the exhibition slate and can earn the swingman/sixth starter role while working up to a starter's workload a la 2021 Cal Quantrill. Morris absolutely has the talent to be a short-term improvement over Zach Plesac in the Guardians rotation, but hasn't proven he can stay on the mound yet. In a perfect world, Morris somehow manages to approach 100 innings in 2023 where he can make his impact felt.At worst he's a better option as an emergency starter than the likes of Konnor Pilkington or Hunter Gaddis when healthy, but the injury issues may ultimately have him replaced by other pitching prospects pushing their way towards the majors. Raw talent alone is enough for me to rank him top 10, and if he can stay upright for an extended period of time the rest of the league will be on notice.The List so Far:11. Justin Campbell12. Jose Tena13. Xzavion Curry14. Gabriel Arias15. Jaison Chourio16. Will Brennan17. Joey Cantillo18. Juan Brito19. Nate Furman20. Petey Halpin21. Parker Messick22. Doug Nikhazy23. Tanner Burns24. Joe Lampe25. Isaiah Greene26. Jake Fox27. Jhonkensy Noel28. Jack Leftwich29. Trenton Denholm30. Peyton Battenfield