At the beginning of this season of Major LeaguesLuis Dany Morales did not appear among the most obvious Cuban candidates to play in the best baseball in the world in 2025. Although the name of the spirit was on the list of the 100 best MLB prospects and appeared in the Top-3 among the main talents of the Athletics, its promotion was not in the plans of most specialists.
However, the 22 -year -old has shattered the forecasts. This week he received the expected call and as soon as Friday night he debuted at the Sutter Health Park in Sacrament Cutter in front of Arizona.
“The repertoire is really good. For him, (triumph or not) it will be a matter of being in the Strike area … obviously, launching for the first time in the big leagues is stressful. He said: ‘Get that first out and then we are going to have fun’,” He pointed out The A’s receiver, Shea Langeliers, after this Friday’s clash, in which they achieved the 5-1 victory against the diamondbacks.
Morales began his adventure in MLB with a confrontation loaded with Cuban symbolism and flavor, because the first batter who crossed his way was another spirit: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The youngest of the brothers of the illustrious Yayabera family, fourth Madero of Arizona, received it with a double to the left after putting under the account with two straight lines.
His next exam was Tyler Loklear, whom he gave ticket, but then forced Blaze Alexander to hit for double play, while dominated with weak roletazo to the mound to Jorge Barrosa. In the seventh episode, Morales returned to complications and allowed a simple race of José Herrera, Tubey of Ketel Mars and elevated sacrifice of Corbin Carroll.
However, he limited the damage and finished his work of two chapters with three jits, a clean and a ticket. “This opportunity has been won. He has launched very well. It is an accelerated path, but there is a lot of confidence in what he has achieved,” said Mark Kotsay, mentor of the Athletics, who recognized how complicated it can become the way for young people like Morales.
“It has been a long journey for him since he left Cuba. His way to reach the big leagues is probably a bit different from the majority. Today is a really gratifying day,” said the manager, who for now will continue to use Morales as reliever, although he does not rule out placing it as a starter before the end of the contest.
The Athletics, in full reconstruction process, have been entrusted to their youngest talents in order to refloat a franchise that does not advance to the postseason since 2020. Its strategy in the most recent change market also focused on further strengthening its farm system, where they gather several of the best professional baseball prospects in the United States currently.
The exit of the Oakland team and the project to establish themselves in Las Vegas for 2028 allows them to work in the long term, as they hope to reach the city of sin with a ninth list to compete in postseason. Of course, for this they must tan children like Luis Dany Morales at the highest level, with all the potential to succeed but without too much experience.
Cubans in MLB: Luis Danys Morales received the call from the athletics
Falcon vision about a natural talent
When talking about the irruption of Morales in professional baseball and its growth as a pitcher, you have to give a lot of credit to the organization of the A’s, which trusted their potential and then have not hesitated to put it to the test at all levels in a relatively short period of time.
The Athletics They hired To the spirit for a bonus of three million dollars during the window of international signatures of 2023, a year and a half after the boy left the Cuban team that would participate in the U-23 World Cup in the sport of balls and the strikes.
Without launching even a picheo in that event, Morales decided to undertake another course and make way in professionalism, aware that its multiple tools and strong work could take it to the big leagues. Since before leaving Cuba, the spirit, gave signs of being a generational talent, especially for the power of his arm and the impact of his breaks at an early age.
WELCOME TO THE GREEN AND GOLD! ✍️
We’ve AgreeD to Terms With 17 International Players Including One From Cuba, Six from Dominican Republic and 10 from Venezuela.
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– Athletics (@athletics) January 16, 2023
In 2018, during a match in the U-15 category, he got a game without jits or races. Two years later, in January 2020, It caused a lot of stir in the youth when he gave 18 strikeouts to the tunas. In That edition of the National Championship Seven victories were pointed out in 12 openings, with an effectiveness of 0.87, average of embasted by entry (whip) of 0.76 and the impressive amount of 135 strikeouts in 82.2 episodes of work.
With such performance, all the conditions were given to be tested at another level, only the “opportunity” was missing, and that appeared in the U-23 World Cup held in Aztec territory in September 2021. From there, the waves did not stop evaluating it and, eventually, the Athletics took the lead to sign it.
After completing his signature, Morales has not stopped growing under the shadow of the A’s, who have carefully monitored their progression to the final ascent to MLB. “I dreamed here in my third year of professional. It gives me even more satisfaction I could have played in all leagues. I did not miss any. I played in all, from the summer Dominican to Triple.
In all this time from his departure from the island to the premiere in the Diamonds of Major Leagues, Morales has only confirmed that the Athletics were not wrong to trust him. In three seasons in the minors, the spirit has made 59 exits, 49 of them as a starter, with effectiveness of 3.74, whip of 1,199 and a rate of 10.2 strikeouts per nine tickets at 214.1 work innings.
But the most notable is that he has continued to polish the different weapons of his arsenal. “Its projection and great potential are very palpable. The future is brilliant for Luis. In each exit, it brushes the triples in speed. His line has a good tour, he has life. He has perfected his change and his slider shows great inclination, so he is developing skills to fail the swing. It is a pleasure to see it,” said MLB Billy Owens, a general deputy manager of the Athletics.
“Its combination of line and slider is electrifying. It usually locates its very low balls, with a high quality and a lot of strength.
These credentials have placed Luis Dany Morales in the Diamonds de Major Leagues, a place where many boys dream of arriving. Now the other battle will begin to stay and establish itself at the highest level, which usually as or more complex than the previous one. But, for now, he has fulfilled a goal and has become the penultimate Cuban to reach MLB, because surely in the future other promises will come to also claim a space.
