With Ricardo Pinto graduating from #Phillies Top 30 Prospects list, 17-year-old Venezuelan Francisco Morales joins: https://t.co/okvT3XVmML pic.twitter.com/ktAWS8Vat7
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 18, 2017
By J.P. McClatchy, Sports Talk Philly staff 
The Phillies Top 30 Prospects list has seen a lot of movement this year thanks to many players being called up coupled with amassing even more young talent through trades. Ricardo Pinto has just graduated from the list creating room for Venezuelan born right-handed pitcher Francisco Morales, who enters the list as the Phillies 30th best prospect.
Morales, 17, was signed by the Phillies as an international free agent on July 2, 2016, receiving $900,000 to sign due to his intriguing stuff and him being considered the top pitcher in the class from Venezuela. Morales is in his first professional season with the Phillies organization starting in a pretty solid rotation for the first place Gulf Coast Phillies in rookie ball.
Through six starts, Morales has a 1-2 record with a 3.41 ERA and 28 strikeouts to 15 walks in 28 innings pitched. Naturally, Morales has struggled against lefties, who are hitting .273 against him and are responsible for the sole home run he has given up this season. He and teammate Oscar Marcelino combined for a seven inning no-hitter against the Yankees West back on August 2nd. Here's what MLB.com has to say about him:
Morales has already shown the ability to get his fastball up to the mid-90s, sitting comfortably in the 92-94 mph range. His breaking ball has already improved considerably since the time he signed, and could end up being much better than average when all is said and done. Morales does have a feel for a changeup that's also improving, though it's behind his other pitches. His command continues to be a work in progress as he works to repeat his delivery consistently. Morales has already added strength to his 6-foot-4 frame, but there could be even more to come as he matures.
Morales is a bit of a project, and the Phillies will be patient with his development, but his outstanding mound presence and makeup gives the organization confidence he'll reach his potential. He could be a solid member of a big league rotation in the future.
The Phillies pitching prospects continue to be something special to watch this year, especially when it seems just about everyone of them has thrown a no-hitter. Francisco Morales is another name to keep an eye on down the line for the future and look for him to generate a lot more buzz as he starts to ascend through the Phillies system.
