Morrow Finally Optioned to AAA

by ~ July 11th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

About a month or so ago the Mariners planned on sending Brandon Morrow to AAA to work on being a starter, but an injury to Erik Bedard kept him in the big leagues where he was stretched out on the go and denied the chance at working on his secondary offerings in a neutral environment.  With the focus obviously on winning Morrow had to go with his only plus pitch, his fastball, rarely mixing in his curve or change.  He’s finally getting that chance to work on his stuff in an environment where he’ll be allowed to make a few mistakes as he’s been optioned to AAA Tacoma to make room for 3B Jack Hannahan (see previous post).

Garrett Olson will be taking his rotation spot initially, though I’d rather see Jason Vargas there with Olson in the bullpen.

This is great for Morrow and the organization.  With a few months to focus on getting his curve, changeup and command closer to where it needs to be, Morrow could be a real asset down the stretch or at least a middle of the rotation pitcher for next season.

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  • http://mvn.com/marinermelee Mariner Melee
  • Shawnuel

    Here here! And it’s Stone, a baseball writer who knows a little about baseball.

  • ernier

    Congratulations Jon!

  • http://www.abchurch.org lukeskywalker

    Jon, I too would rather see Vargas in the rotation, so why Garrett Olson instead? P.S. you really see Morrow making it as a rotation guy with the Mariners?

  • http://proballnw.com Jon Shields

    Welcome to the site.

    I’m not sure if there is a clear reason why Olson is getting the nod. His last two starts went well and Vargas was already off the roster, so I’d assume they just decided to give Olson another shot.

    Vargas is clearly a better starter than Olson, though. Olson’s fastball isn’t a major league pitch, so he’s better suited for relief where he can throw a lot of slurves and changeups (two good pitches).

    As far as Morrow, I definitely believe he can make it in the rotation. Durability could be an issue from time to time, but he already has one plus pitch (fastball) and has flashed two plus pitches in the past (curve, changeup), so he is in pretty good shape. Once he gets his mechanics straightened out he should have a little better command, and the minor league stint should help bring the curve and change closer to late-2008 levels. This roller coaster ride of conversions has really put him back a year or two in terms of development, but he should be alright as long as the team finally sticks to a plan.

  • http://proballnw.com Jon Shields

    Jeff at LL made a good point with regards to the Olson over Vargas decision, saying that the M’s are trying to keep Vargas’ innings down after he missed all of last season.

    Fortunately he didn’t miss the year with elbow or shoulder problems– it was hip labrum surgery. Still, the inactivity all season would scrub his durability until he can build himself back up.

  • Slurve

    “he can throw a lot of slurves”

    I’m happy already.