Black MiLB Players #19: 1B/LF Tre' Morgan, Tampa Bay Rays

Tre' Morgan is a first baseman who falls into a rare archetype for his position group with a dangerously low floor and a surprisingly high ceiling.

Background + Path to Professional Baseball

Tre’ Morgan is a 22-year-old first baseman from New Orleans, Louisiana in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Tampa Bay drafted him in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Louisiana State University, where he was one of college baseball’s most dynamic and unique position players. During his three years at LSU, Morgan slashed .332/.424/.497 with elite defense and above-average baserunning, helping the LSU baseball program win a national championship in 2020.

His professional career began in the 2023 season, although he only played in 14 games due to a wrist injury. He has played in 57 games during the 2024 MiLB season so far, going .359/.438/.507 with 16 doubles, four home runs, two triples, and 16 stolen bases across 257 plate appearances with Tampa Bay’s Low-A and High-A affiliates.

Player Profile

Tre’ Morgan is a first baseman who stands at 6’0’’ and weighs around 215 pounds. He is built more like your prototypical middle infielder than a corner infielder, having a tapered waist with a sculpted but slim lower half. Morgan bats and throws left-handed.

Hitting

Morgan stands in the left-handed batter’s box with a squatted, even stance. He holds his hands beneath his chin as he waits for the pitch before executing an effortless, smooth swing. He has an elite feel for making contact, being one of two players in High-A with a strikeout rate below 10% out of 327 qualified hitters with at least 140 plate appearances. His on-base skills are extremely sound and almost equal to his ability to put the bat on the ball, having drawn more walks drawn than strikeouts during the 2024 MiLB season.

The former SEC star has dominated lower-level MiLB pitching so far in his career, hitting .359/.438/.507 with 16 doubles, two triples, and four home runs for the current season. It will be crucial to see how much of his offensive success carries over when he is promoted to Double-A and faces better competition. He is far less effective against same-handed pitchers than against opposite-handed pitchers, owning a 1.003 OPS versus right-handed pitchers and a .686 OPS versus left-handed pitchers.

He is the rare first baseman who has the skills and tools to hit first or second in a lineup rather than third through fifth. Morgan works with an all-fields approach that produces a large amount of line drives and groundballs. He also lays down great bunts and legs out singles consistently. His most prominent blemishes as a hitter are a lack of above-average power and a swing that isn’t geared for sustainably producing home runs. Despite not possessing the home run power that is expected of a first baseman, he accrues doubles and triples at a high rate due to his contact skills, speed, and aggressive style of baserunning. Although Tampa Bay’s development staff is adept at increasing the flyball rates for position players, it is a long shot that Morgan logs more than 15 home runs a year if he figures out a way to be a full-time major leaguer.

Fielding

Morgan is arguably the best defensive player at his position in all of professional baseball. The only reason he is playing at first base and not shortstop or second base is because he is left-handed. There is a legitimate chance that he will wind up as one of the best fielding first basemen in MLB history if he is a full-time player in MLB for at least five seasons. His range is elite in all directions and it is enhanced by his sharp baseball instincts and aggressive style of play. He has some of the surest hands in all of MLB and his ability to scoop picks out of the dirt is immaculate. He makes all the right decisions with traffic on the bases and has the creativity of a shortstop when the situation demands it. He is the rare first baseman who can provide a lot of value to a ball club with his glove.

Baserunning

Morgan is an above-average athlete with sharp instincts as a baserunner and base stealer. He has the tools and on-base skills to swipe 100 career bags in MLB, which would put him in an extremely exclusive club amongst first basemen. He has successfully stolen 16 bases with five attempts where he was caught stealing in 57 games played in 2024. He has more than enough speed to leg out groundballs as infield singles and stretch bloop singles into doubles. His athleticism is a key cog in all the facets of his game.

Conclusion

Morgan’s avenue to being a full-time major leaguer as a table-setting, run-scoring 1B who hits first or second instead of batting third or fourth is viable, but it comes with a large amount of risk. His ability to make contact, on-base skills, athleticism, and defensive prowess are traits you see more often in middle infielders and center fielders, not first basemen. The absence of consistent home run power and only being able to play first base because of his left-handedness is a huge hurdle to overcome, but there have been plenty of position players who have done more with less in the batter’s box. The second half of the 2024 MiLB season will play a large part in showing the various realms of baseball who Tre’ Morgan is as a professional baseball player, especially if he sees substantial time with Tampa Bay’s Double-A affiliate.