“Youngster” Andrew Morris off to strong start for Cedar Rapids Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS - Try and figure it out, because this math just doesn’t seem to add up properly.

Andrew Morris of the Cedar Rapids Kernels is in his third season of professional baseball. Let’s start with that.

Prior to the parent Minnesota Twins taking him in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, he threw three seasons at Division II Colorado Mesa and one at Texas Tech. He’s 22 years old.

Sift through those numbers and try to comprehend how the totality of them are possible.

Let’s explain. Morris graduated from high school in Boulder, Colo., two years early, entered college as a 16 year old and pitched his true freshman season at 17.

“I skipped second grade,” the right-hander said, after pitching a gem Thursday night in his team’s 8-4 win over Dayton at wet, windy and chilly Veterans Memorial Stadium. “I also started kindergarten early, was born on the cutoff date, Sept. 1, and my mom decided to put me ahead.

“I grew up all over the place. Was born in New York, moved to Oregon after that. I lived in Alaska for four or five years. I say I’m from Colorado because that’s where I lived the longest.”

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Morris has a unique over-the-top delivery and shoulder tilt that makes a carrying fastball that reached 95 miles per hour Thursday very difficult on hitters. He also throws a changeup, curve and slider and has added a cutter this season that he used to great effect against Dayton, considered to have one of the top offensive lineups in the Midwest League.

Morris allowed just three hits (two broken bat and a well-placed grounder up the middle) and a run, with no walks and nine strikeouts. In his two starts this season, he has give up just six hits, a walk and a run in 10 innings, with 15 strikeouts.

According to a tweet from the Twins player development staff, Morris is the only pitcher in minor or major league ball so far in the early going to have a 60-plus percent in-zone rate, 40-plus percent batter chase rate and 40-plus percent strikeout rate.

That’s getting it done. MLB.com has Morris ranked 18th on its list of top-30 prospects in the Twins system.

“It felt like everything was working tonight,” Morris said.“ I probably could have thrown a few more fastballs, but I was breaking out the cutter. Haven’t really thrown a cutter before, so I was throwing that a lot, and it was working well. Getting some broken bats and some strikeouts with those. That was new.”

Keoni Cavaco’s two-run go-ahead double in the bottom of the eighth was the key hit in a four-run inning that gave the Kernels (2-3) the win Thursday. Dayton had scored three runs in the top of the inning to tie the game.

Rubel Cespedes had four hits and seven RBIs in an 11-2 win Wednesday night over Dayton. Cedar Rapids lost Tuesday night’s home opener against the Dragons and its first two games last weekend at Beloit.

The Kernels and Dayton play again Friday night, as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2:05.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com