Adam Morgan has become Phillies’ most valuable reliever | Bob Brookover

A scout from another team started talking about Adam Morgan a couple of weeks ago ahead of a game at Nationals Park. He recalled the old Adam Morgan, the one the Phillies drafted out of the University of Alabama in the third round in 2011 in the hope he would develop into a successful big-league starter.

“I remember seeing him pitch at Reading and thinking, ‘Wow, this guy is going to be really good,’ ” the scout said.

That was the prevailing opinion in 2012 and 2013 as Morgan made a rapid ascent through the Phillies’ minor-league system. And then the game of baseball and the game of life threw him a series of wicked curveballs.

First, there was the shoulder injury that required surgery after the 2013 season. And then there were the 36 big-league starts in 2015 and 2016 that left him with a 7-18 record and a 5.43 ERA. He nearly had a one-way ticket out of Philadelphia and possibly even the game.

So here we are near the end of the first month of the 2019 season, and what can we say about Adam Morgan?

How about this: Wow, this guy is really good.

At the moment, the 29-year-old lefty is not just the best pitcher in manager Gabe Kapler’s bullpen. He also is one of the top relievers in the game.

Entering Saturday’s game against Miami, Morgan was one of 142 relievers to pitch at least 10 innings this season. He was one of only three in that group who had not allowed a run. His four hits allowed were tied for the third fewest among relievers with at least 10 innings, and his seven runners allowed were the second fewest.

Hitters were batting .118 against him, seventh lowest among baseball’s most used relievers.

“For me, there was a lot of uncertainty about what role or what position I’d be in when I first went to the bullpen,” Morgan said. “But last year, having a full year of being a reliever, it helped me tremendously. Knowing what it feels like to pitch three days in a row and how to prepare my body and just going through a reliever routine has been really beneficial for me.”

Exactly how good and how valuable Morgan can become as a reliever remains to be seen.

“It’s unusual to see a guy come out of the 'pen with four-plus pitches,” Kapler said. “Most of the time, you see two nowadays. He has his fastball, and he actually has two of them — a four-seamer and two-seamer -- plus a curveball, slider, and change-up.”

That arsenal allows Kapler to lean on Morgan against right-handed and left-handed hitters.

“He kind of hits some check marks that a lot of guys cannot hit,” pitching coach Chris Young said. “He can have success against lefties, but he also has the ability to mix his stuff against righties. As he’s maturing, his confidence is growing, and I know I’ve felt incredibly confident in him since I’ve been here.”

For the first time in his career, Morgan is being paid more than a million dollars. He received a $1.1 million deal as a first-year arbitration-eligible player.

He won’t be eligible for free agency until 2022. Morgan knows, however, that nothing is promised because he has had to handle those nasty breaking balls that have been such a big part of his career.

“Yeah, I appreciate this,” Morgan said. “I don’t take anything for granted now. I’m still the guy I was when I first came up in 2015. I try to work hard and do the right things, but I know this game can get taken away from you tomorrow.

"I credit my family, everybody around me, the Phillies and everybody who has given me a chance and stuck by me, and now I have a contract and I can breathe a little bit because I feel like I’m an important part of this team. It boosts my confidence.”

A perfect example of Morgan’s value came in the seventh inning Thursday night against the Marlins. With the game tied at 1 and runners at first and third with two out, Kapler called in Morgan to face left-handed hitter Curtis Granderson.

That would have been a good matchup for the Phillies. Lefties are hitting .188 against Morgan this season, and Granderson was 1-for-7 with four career strikeouts against the Phillies’ top reliever. Marlins manager Don Mattingly sent right-handed hitter Isaac Galloway to face Morgan instead.

That was an even better matchup for the Phillies. Morgan has allowed just one hit in 18 at-bats against right-handed hitters this season. Morgan killed Galloway softly, throwing a curveball, three change-ups, and a slider before the Marlins’ pinch-hitter flied out to center field.

Galloway hit for Granderson again Friday night in the eighth inning with runners at first and second and two outs. Again, Morgan won the battle with a steady diet of off-speed pitches before getting Galloway to pop out to first base. Morgan has inherited six baserunners this season and none of them have scored.

Kapler decided he would not ask for anything more from Morgan Friday, even though the reliever had thrown only five pitches.

Perhaps it was because he had also thrown the night before in New York. Or perhaps he knew he might need him again Friday. The manager does believe Morgan is capable of handling more than a single inning, a trait that is more valued than ever in an era when starting pitchers exit a lot earlier than they once did.

“I think every night that he has had some rest, we think about being able to use him in extended periods of time,” Kapler said. “Two innings if we need it. I always write on our lineup card, Possible length for Mo. When I say length, I mean in meaningful spots in the game.”

Morgan’s numbers over the last two seasons indicate he is well-equipped to handle more than a single inning of relief. In the 11 games he has pitched more than one inning, he has a 1.04 ERA, allowing just two earned runs, 10 hits, and two walks in 17⅓ innings. He also has struck out 22 batters in those games.

That is dominance.

“Whatever they want me to do, I will do,” Morgan said. “I aspire to be the best I can be in any situation, whether it be two innings, a sixth-inning guy, a seventh-inning guy, a lefty specialist. ...

"I’ve always said the more versatile you are, the better you are going to be and the longer you are going to stick around. I don’t think I’m going to classify myself as one of these things.”

The Phillies, as we all know, do not have a designated closer. But they do have a most valuable reliever, and right now it is Adam Morgan.