Gareth Morgan

Gareth B. Morgan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 265 lb.

• High School Blyth Academy

• Born April 12, 1996 in Toronto, ON Canada

BR register page

Biographical Information

Gareth Morgan was a top prospect who has played for Team Canada.

In 2011, he was the youngest player to participate in the Under Armour All-American game. Morgan hit .057/.154/.057 for Canada in the 2012 U-18 Baseball World Cup, with 18 whiffs in 35 at-bats for the Silver Medalists. He led the event in strikeouts, five ahead of teammate Jacob Robson. In the 2013 U-18 Baseball World Cup, he fell a double shy of the cycle against the Czech Republic and scored three runs in the 7th/8th place game win over Australia. He finished much better than the prior year, at .333/.462/.810 with 7 RBI in 6 games. He tied Adam Haseley (who shares his birthday) and Satoshi Sonobe for 9th in the event in RBI, led qualifiers in slugging (.004 ahead of Haseley) and tied Jakson Reetz for 2nd in OPS (behind Haseley).

The Seattle Mariners took him in the 2nd round of the 2014 amateur draft, one pick before J.D. Davis. He was the first Canadian picked that year. The scout was Wayne Norton. That summer, he struggled mightily for the AZL Mariners at .148/.244/.252 with 73 K in 155 at-bats. Only Micker Adolfo had more strikeouts in the Arizona League. Back with the same team in 2015, he improved to .225/.270/.383 with 31 runs in 55 games though he had 12 walks to 89 K in 241 plate appearances. He led AZL outfielders in both putouts (94) and errors (7). He tied Jose Leal for 8th in the AZL in RBI (30), led in whiffs (19 ahead of Miguel Mercedes), tied for 5th with 21 extra-base hits and tied for 6th with five home runs.

Morgan was on Canada's team for the 2015 Premier 12 but got only one at-bat. Pinch-hitting for Tyson Gillies with two outs in the 9th and a 4-3 deficit against Mexico, he struck out against Brennan Bernardino. He split 2016 between the AZL Mariners (.216/.261/.344, 58 K in 125 AB) and the Bakersfield Blaze (5 for 13, 3 2B, 7 K). With the 2017 Clinton Lumber Kings, he produced at a .230/.320/.422 clip with 17 homers, 14 steals in 19 tries and 53 walks but struck out 185 more times (in 405 at-bats). He tied Li-Jen Chu and Edward Olivares for 9th in the Midwest League in home runs and led in strikeouts (5 ahead of Emmanuel Tapia). He tied Olivares for the most double plays by an outfielder (5). Among Mariners farmhands, only fellow Canadian Tyler O'Neill had more home runs (by 2) but he also had 49 more strikeouts than runner-up Joey Curletta. He was 5th in the affiliated minors in whiffs.

The Toronto native spent most of 2018 with the Modesto Nuts (.158/.249/.386, 180 K in 298 AB, 19 HR) and was with the AZL Mariners on a rehab stint (7 K, 1 H in 8 AB). He tied Gio Brusa, Cody Thomas and Connor Wong for 5th in the California League despite only playing 84 games; on the other hand, he still led the league in strikeouts (8 more than Vince Fernandez). Among Mariners minor leaguers, only Curletta and Daniel Vogelbach hit more homers and he led in strikeouts by 14 ahead of Ariel Sandoval. He was 4th in the affiliated minors in strikeouts behind Monte Harrison, Braxton Davidson and DJ Peters.

Morgan started 2019 with Modesto and was 2 for 27 with 5 walks, one homer and 20 strikeouts. The Mariners gave up on the former 2nd-round draftee. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim gave him a shot and he put up some big-time power numbers with the Inland Empire 66ers (.290/.327/.645, 20 HR, 49 RBI in 44 G; 95 K in 183 AB). He moved up to the Mobile BayBears and hit .206/.267/.262 with 55 K in 107 AB, only going deep once. Even though he only played 71 games in their chain, Morgan was still 6th in the Angels chain in dingers (between Jeremiah Jackson and Justin Bour) and tied for 3rd in strikeouts (with Spencer Griffin). He was on Canada's team for the 2019 Premier 12 but did not get into a game.