Iowa City West grad Marcus Morgan drafted by Philadelphia Phillies

CEDAR RAPIDS — Marcus Morgan had the pure ability and opportunity to play football, basketball and baseball in college.

His ultimate choice of sport came down to the one he felt would best serve him in the future. That was baseball, and he appears to have been plenty clairvoyant.

The University of Iowa junior, Iowa City West graduate and 2021 Gazette Male Athlete of the Year was selected Monday afternoon by the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. The right-handed pitcher was the 282nd-overall pick.

Morgan did not have a good season for the Hawkeyes, struggling with control and posting an earned run average of 7.45, but his pure stuff is undeniable. He throws five pitches including a fastball that can hit the middle-90s.

He has high upside, similar to Iowa teammate and former multi-sport guy Brody Brecht, who was drafted 38th overall Sunday night by the Colorado Rockies. Professional instruction hopefully will help both pitchers iron out their command/control issues.

The value of the 282nd-overall pick is $188,200. Though he has another year of college eligibility, Morgan, who had yet to return a text message seeking comment early Monday night, is expected to sign and turn professional.

“His ERA doubled from 3.72 as a sophomore to 7.45 this spring as scouts were critical of the Hawkeyes’ pitch-calling and tinkering with his repertoire,” a scouting report on Morgan via MLB.com said. “Morgan throws five different pitches, including a 91-93 mph fastball that reaches 96 with a lot of arm-side run and carry that make it difficult to control, as did the fact that he threw it only one third of the time as a junior.

“Despite his twitchy athleticism and a sound delivery, Morgan issued 125 walks in 135 innings during three seasons in college. He might be better off paring down his repertoire and throwing more fastballs to improve his command of the pitch. At his best, he flashes three plus offerings and he has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter if he can provide a lot more strikes.”

Iowa also had two other players drafted Monday.

Outfielder Sam Petersen was taken in the eighth round by the Washington Nationals. He hit .333 this season for the Hawkeyes, missing a substantial amount of time with stress reactions in both shins.

Right-handed relief pitcher Jack Young was selected in the ninth round, 23 picks ahead of Morgan, by the Chicago White Sox. A Pleasant Valley grad, he went 2-1 with four saves and a 2.76 ERA in 28 appearances this season.

Iowa commit Joey Oakie was drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Guardians. The recent Ankeny Centennial graduate is a right-handed pitcher who is expected to sign and go pro.

The slot value of his pick is $906,800.

The draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11 through 20.

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