Tampa Bay Rays Prospect Tre Morgan Hoping To Help Lead Charleston Riverdogs To Fourth Consecutive SAL Championship

Tampa Bay Rays prospect Tre Morgan is beginning his second season in the minors. The player who many call the unsung hero of LSU’s 2023 College World Series championship squad was taken in the third round of last year’s MLB Draft.

 

Related: LSU Baller Tre Morgan Is Not Your Prototypical First Baseman | But His Diverse Skill Set Allows Him To Impact The Game In All Phases For SEC Power LSU | mlbbro.com

 

Playing on a team that featured the top two picks in last year’s draft (Paul Skenes, Pirates) and (Dylan Crews, Nationals) Morgan like many of his teammates often times flew under-the-radar.

 

 

But that’s not to say Morgan’s contribution was small, as the 6-foot and 215-pounder showed plenty of range and a solid bat in a loaded Tigers lineup. In his final season in Baton Rouge Morgan batted .316 with nine homers and 53 RBI. He also drove in 65 runs while compiling 85 total hits.

 

Morgan’s numbers in his three-year career at LSU look like this, .332 batting average with an on-base percentage of .424. Morgan also boasted solid slugging .497 and OPS numbers .921 while also driving in 149 RBI, 20 homers, with 49 of those hits being doubles. Those numbers scream high-round draft pick.

 

 

Morgan Excited For Second MiLB Season

 

As Morgan begins his second season with the Rays High-A affiliate Charleston Riverdogs he’s hoping to help lead the team its fourth consecutive SAL Championship.

 

Last season was a blur for Morgan who helped the Tigers win it all, and one week later he was being drafted by the Rays. The Rays quickly paid Morgan a ($783,800) signing bonus and shipped him down to Port Charlotte to be with the rookies.

 

 

With his second season now started, Morgan recently reflected on the whirlwind turnaround from championship college player to being in the minors. In a recent post practice interview Morgan had this to say.

 

“It was a whirlwind. One moment I was out on the field in Omaha, Nebraska celebrating a national championship with all of my teammates, and the next I was at the Rays complex starting my professional career.

“Getting drafted was a dream come true, but it was like I got a chance to appreciate what we’d accomplished. It all happened so fast.”

 

If Morgan hasn’t noticed by now that’s how it goes in the minors. Baseball is hard and it takes years of preparation for one to perfect his craft on the diamond.

 

 

Morgan Says Minor League Horror Stories Are A Myth

 

Morgan told reporters that prior to joining the Riverdogs last year he’d heard all kinds of horror stories of how things went in the minors, but he says it’s nowhere near that bad.

 

“I had no idea what minor league baseball was all about,” Morgan said. “People told me how terrible it was going to be. I remember coming to Charleston and stepping on the field and feeling all the energy in the building and thinking this was awesome.

“I wouldn’t say the transformation from college to the pro ball has been easy, but coming to Charleston was the perfect place for me to start my career. It has the same feel as a lot of SEC ball parks.”

 

Morgan Expected To Play Outfield As Well

 

While at LSU Morgan was pretty much relegated to first base, while he did have a small sample size in the outfield, Riverdogs manager Sean Smedley wants to see more of him there.

 

“We know what kind of first baseman Tre is, so having him play a little in the outfield will add another tool to his skillset.”

 

In a small sample size last season, Morgan batted .389 with two RBI and four stolen bases. Thus far this season he’s batting .258 with two homers, four RBI and five stolen bases.