The Gamers vs. The Gifted: Cohoon vs. Morris

This is one of the biggest quandaries in my list. First there's Mark Cohoon, who blew through Low-A Savannah before stumbling in Binghamton... then blew through Binghamton before stumbling in Buffalo could be a year away from finding himself and getting back on the radar as the lefty Dillon Gee. Then there's Akeel Morris who's the exact opposite of the spectrum. He's not yet ready for Savannah but based on PURE stuff... he's one of our best.

Full Name: Mark E. Cohoon

Born: 09/15/1987

Birthplace: Burleson, TX

College: North Central Texas Col

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 195

Bats: L

Throws: L

Size-wise, Cohoon projects to be healthy and reliable physically. Stuff-wise, there just isn't a ton to love. His offerings are back of the rotation stuff, AT BEST, and he's not exactly "READY" for his major-league debut.

Yet, I still have faith that Cohoon will have uses in the major leagues. One, he's a lefty and lefties get an extra tick of confidence from me. Two, he's stumbled along the way through his progression but usually rights the ship in his second pass through a level. Three, he doesn't have a single iota of pressure.

He's not a member of Generation 2K and he's not even the first man on deck should the big club need a temporary arm. He's just gotta reestablish himself and focus on AAA for an entire year. If he can regain his form in 2012, he could be working his way into the back of the rotation OR bullpen for 2013.

Cohoon's Scouting Report:

Fastball: Featuring an 86-88 MPH fastball, topping out at 89, Cohoon can cut the pitch to either side of the plate. When at his best, he is able to use the pitches glove-side run and drop to give both right and left-handed hitters fits. It’s late action makes it difficult to barrel the ball and causes more than its share of ground balls and soft contact. Due to his ability to throw multiple breaking pitches for strikes, his velocity plays up at this level giving him an unfair advantage over younger, less seasoned wood-bat hitters.

On an isolated occasion, Cohoon struggled to locate his fastball to the point he dropped his velocity to 84-86 MPH just to throw strikes. A handful of 2-seam fastballs registered at 82 MPH which served as a strong reminder of just how little margin for error Cohoon has. In other leagues, he would have made an early exit.

Curveball: More of a slurve than true 12-6 offering, he was careful not to challenge hitters with the pitch, instead choosing to backdoor right-handed hitters and sweep it away from lefties. His least impressive pitch, it’s a fringe average to below offering at 70-74 MPH. Without enough bite to make batters swing-and-miss, it’s a pitch he may be forced to shelve has he climbs the ladder to focus on his fastball/changeup combination.

Changeup: With excellent arm action and the ability to spot on the outside corner to right-handed hitters seemingly at will, Cohoon’s changeup can be a weapon. At 81-83 MPH, he pulls down on the pitch which gives it excellent drop and fade away from righties. At present, he’s comfortable throwing it any count and has shown the ability to backdoor the change to lefties without risk of centering the plate.

Full Name: Akeel J. Morris

Born: 11/14/1992

Birthplace: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

Height: 6' 1"

Weight: 170

Bats: R

Throws: R

I've heard it said that Morris can get the radar gun to show three digits. That alone is going to get someone listed on my "Gifted" group. Morris might have been the hardest TO HIT pitcher in Kingsport this season. Sadly... you don't need to HIT his pitches to get on base.

Akeel is a touch on the wild side and will need a year in Brooklyn (or repeating Kingsport) before I'll think he's ready for Savannah. He needs to learn to hit the strike zone with his pitches and... if he's going to be a starter, work on some secondary offerings. If he can do that, we should be getting excited.

I see most hard throwers like this and assume they'll be relievers. The same way some people heard Dan Warthen mouth off and assume Mejia is one. I'm not going to peg Akeel just yet but I'm really pulling for him to start as long as he can.

Morris' Scouting Report:

The only high school player taken by the Mets in the first ten rounds—actually, the first twenty rounds—Morris actually has some upside. Short and lanky, he’s just six-one, 170 pounds, and I don’t think he even looks that heavy. He does have a little projection left, but as a shorter guy, I wouldn’t expect too much more. According to Baseball America, he’s been clocked regularly at 87-89, touching 91, but a Virgin Islands newspaper mentioned him as touching 94, which jibes with MLB’s scouting video. He has a violent delivery that ends with him falling dramatically toward the first base side. He really has a rear-back-and-chuck-it type of delivery, and it will require some toning down. As is, I could see him having shoulder issues in the future, and his command looks pretty dreadful in its current format. In terms of polish, he’s very, very raw, not unexpected from a kid from the Virgin Islands. He throws a soft curve that has break, but he has no idea how to control the pitch, and it could use tightening and more velocity besides. I doubt the changeup is in his repertoire. There’s a lot of potential here, but he’ll need time, which he has, being one of the youngest players in the draft—he won’t turn 18 until November. The tenth round is the last round I draft in my shadow, and while I was looking at a couple college arms, I’ll follow the Mets’ lead here and select Morris.

My brain was telling me that I had to go with Cohoon based on his proximity to the majors and success at higher levels. My heart told me to dive deeper. What did I find?

Opposing hitters managed just a .166 AVG against Morris in 2011 and this, in turn, led to a 1.32 WHIP. Considering that control can be learned over time I'm willing to give this round to the Gifted.