Tampa Bay Rays: Logan Morrison slugging his way to a career year
By Tim Haberin
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Logan Morrison could be the 2017 breakout star you’re not hearing enough about.
What if I told you Logan Morrison was currently tied for second in Major League Baseball in home runs?
It’s true. The Tampa Bay Rays first baseman has already knocked 21 round-trippers, tied with Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger and just two behind another rookie sensation in Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (23). Morrison clubbed two on Sunday to climb up the ladder.
The small-market Rays typically don’t receive an abundance of media coverage, even when things are going well for them. That might make Morrison’s monster performance rather surprising if you don’t usually pay the team much attention. Until this year, “LoMo” has been known more for inconsistency and injuries than sustained success.
A 22nd-round draft pick by the Marlins back in 2005, Morrison rose through the ranks to become a well-regarded prospect, ranked as highly as #18 overall by Baseball America prior to 2009. He debuted in 2010 and showed off some of his hitting prowess, slashing .283/.390/.447 in 62 games.
Since then, it’s been a story of injury-shortened seasons and a slide into mediocrity. Between 2011 and 2016, Morrison played in over 100 games just three times. He also posted an OPS+ over 100 three times during that span. After being traded to Tampa Bay from Seattle in time for the 2016 season, Morrison signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal last offseason to stay there in 2017.
Right now that’s looking like one of the best bargains in baseball. Through 69 games, Morrison has slashed .246/.355/.569 with 21 homers and 47 RBI. His 2.2 fWAR is good for third among all first basemen, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt (3.5) and Joey Votto (2.9). That’s not bad company for a heretofore average-at-best player.
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Morrison isn’t hitting for much average, but a .247 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) could have something to do with that. However, he’s walking enough (14.1 percent BB rate) to get himself on the base paths more.
A 26.6 percent HR/FB (home run to fly ball) rate suggests his home run output might slow (career 13.5 percent), but Morrison has shown some power in the past. He popped a career-high 23 homers in 2011, a total he’s already on the cusp of surpassing.
Due to turn 30 years old in August, it’s anyone’s guess whether this is a genuine late breakthrough by Morrison or just an extended hot streak. Perhaps being healthy and playing every day is finally paying dividends for the Kansas City native. In any case, he’s been one of the real surprises of the season thus far and a big reason why the Rays are over .500 and currently tied for the AL’s second Wild Card spot.
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Is Morrison’s first ever All-Star Game appearance in the cards? At this point it would be hard to justify him not being there. And if he keeps this up, he’s looking at a much sweeter free agent contract next winter.
Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.