The Making of a Reliever
Andrew Morris, a right‑handed reliever for the Minnesota Twins, has quickly become a cornerstone of the club’s bullpen after a mid‑season shift from the rotation. In 60 ⅓ innings this year he posts a 3.43 ERA, while his barrel‑rate and average exit velocity place him in the 91st percentile and his hard‑hit rate hovers near the 85th percentile, producing an expected ERA of 3.10.
Recent outings have been punctuated by a few rough spots: two of his last three appearances saw him allow three or more runs, including a three‑run eighth‑inning collapse against the Phillies on August 16 that helped seal a sweep, and a four‑run frame in San Diego that turned a close game into a 7‑5 loss.
What distinguishes Morris is his knack for generating weak contact. He whiffed five of 19 pitches in that Phillies outing, yet three of the four runs he surrendered were unearned, the result of catcher interference and a fielding error. That reliance on the defense means that when mistakes happen, his numbers can swell despite solid underlying metrics.
Chasing Ace Status
To shed the label of a merely competent middle‑reliever and ascend to the upper echelon of closers, Morris will need to boost his strikeout rate and curb the volatility that comes from leaning on soft contact. If he can add a few more swing‑and‑miss pitches, the Twins may finally have the ace they have been seeking.