Cleveland Indians: Three in-house prospects who could be the fifth starter

Eli Morgan

The final pitcher that is on the 40-man roster and on the Columbus Clippers that could be the fifth starter for the Cleveland Indians is Eli Morgan. At 5-foot-10, Morgan doesn’t have the typical size of a big league pitcher, but the 25-year old could fly under the radar and up to the Cleveland Indians roster if he can improve in Columbus.

An eighth round pick during the 2017 MLB Draft out of Gonzaga, Morgan quickly climbed the minor league ranks, pitching at High-A, Double-A and Triple-A during the 2019 season alone. Now, Morgan has struggled out of the gate in Columbus, but he was put on the 40-man roster for a reason. Mejia and Moss might get the first crack, but if things continue to trend south an opportunity could present itself to Morgan since he’s already on the 40-man roster.

This season, Morgan has tallied two starts and has allowed three runs in each outing, totaling 7.2 innings of work. The runs have come from a total of 11 hits and six walks while striking out seven.

Like I said, his body of work isn’t what you look for when trying to find a pitcher to call up. However, if the Tribe want to make a change without having to alter the 40-man roster, this is about all that’s left to try in-house.