David O'Brien, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's beat writer, is in Arizona to watch some of the Braves' prospects performing in the Arizona Fall League.
In a recent blog on the AJC website, O'Brien introduced an unfamiliar name into the mix for Atlanta's pitching staff - Charlie Morton.
Morton was in Chattanooga last summer hurling for manager Phillip Wellman's Mississippi Braves at AT&T Field.
The AJC reporter had this to say about Morton:
"Charlie Morton isn’t ranked among the Braves’ Top 10 prospects (Schafer is No. 1 in that just-released Baseball America list), but that’s because the 6-foot-5 pitcher has come on so recently.
He’s a quickly rising talent who’ll soon be added to the 40-man roster, GM Frank Wren told me today. (Frank also said he was assured all the Braves position guys on the Javelinas were going to play tonight, including Schafer, catcher Clint Sammons, SS Brandon Hicks, and 2B J.C. Holt. Yes, Braves starting at five spots).
Morton’s numbers last year at Double-A Mis’sip didn’t exactly jump off the page — he was 4-6 with a 4.29 ERA in 41 games, including six starts. He had 67 strikeouts in 79-2/3 innings, with 37 walks and 80 hits allowed.
But look inside the about-to-turn 24-year-old’s splits and you see why folks took notice late in the season. His WHIP came down steadily, from 1.92 in April to 1.56 in July and 1.31 in August. He went from recording 20 strikeouts with 17 walks in 24-2/3 innings during April-May to 27 strikeouts with 10 walks in 29 innings during July-August.
In the AFL, before tonight he’s 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA in five games (four starts), with 14 strikeouts and six walks in 16 innings.
Morton has a fastball that reaches 96-97 mph, along with three other pitches that are said to be average to above-average: curveball, slider and change.
He’s a former third-round pick (2002) who had fallen off the radar while going 12-18 over his first two minor league seasons in A-Ball, and posting ERAs of 4.82, 5.20 and 5.40 in his first three seasons. This (2007) was his fourth."