The Chicago Cubs made an interesting move on Tuesday by calling up Christopher Morel from Double-A Tennessee. With players such as shortstop Nico Hoerner and outfielder Jason Heyward (COVID-related) on the Injured List, the Cubs chose to call up Morel, who’s known for having high-upside skills both offensively and defensively (where he plays all over the diamond).
Well, Morel made his major-league debut with two outs in the bottom of the eighth as a pinch-hitter. He fell behind 0-2 in the count, before working the count to 3-2. Once it became a full count, the Wrigley Field crowd stood up and got loud for the rookie in a 6-0 game.
And then he destroyed a baseball.
Morel cranked a 417-foot home run that landed on Waveland Avenue. The blast had a 111.3 mph exit velocity.
This is an incredible moment, and Morel’s trip around the bases is entertaining as well:
Amazing.
Morel, 22, had a .306/.380/.565 slash line with seven home runs in 122 plate appearances this season for the Tennessee Smokies. He hit 18 homers in 456 plate appearances in the minors last season.
FanGraphs ranked Morel 16th among prospects in the Cubs’ farm system entering this season.
Additionally, Cubs pitcher Brandon Hughes made his MLB debut in this game, and he did an incredible job as well.
Hughes threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing no runs and striking out five batters for all five of the outs he recorded.
The Cubs beat the Pirates 7-0, a day after beating the Pirates 9-0 (the Cubs also had a 21-0 win over the Pirates in April).
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.