Cody
Morissette

2021 MLB Draft: Morissette has greatly improved his life and athleticism on the field in the last two years, impressing all over the diamond with strong defense at the keystone and turning in quality at-bats. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder is the complete package at second base. Although he's a below-average runner down the line, his speed plays up on defense. He makes it look easy with quick feet, athletic actions and better-than-average range. He also has an average arm and can make throws from the deep infield. At the plate, he has a beautiful, loose left-handed swing that is long through the zone. He's balanced with above-average bat speed and profiles with more hitability thand in-game power production. He might not have impact pop, but some that is certainly enough to give him everyday value at second base.

My nearly two year old Cape Cod League notes from 2019 were of little use. The life and athleticism in Morissette was on a totally different level during this look. He was impressive all over the diamond with strong defense at the keystone and five quality at-bats, even with a finger injury that he suffered in the first inning while sliding into home plate and a Henry Davis’ shin guard. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder looked to be the complete package at second base. Although he’s a below average runner down the line his speed plays up on defense. He made it look easy with quick feet, athletic actions and better than average range. He also showed an average arm on a throw from deep infield to nail a runner at the plate. Morissette projects to be a better than average defender at second base. This eval runs a bit contrary to earlier scouting industry looks this spring when he started at the hot corner, a more challenging position for him. At the plate Morissette has a beautiful, loose left-handed swing that is long through the zone. He’s balanced with above average bat speed and profiles to have more hit ability than game power production. I don’t see impact pop, but some that is certainly enough to give him potential everyday value at second base with around 12-15 home runs per year and dozens of doubles. With one of the top pure hit tools in the draft this year he could vault him into 2nd round consideration with another highly productive season.

Morissette hit .320/.410/.479 with 20 doubles during his excellent 2019 freshman campaign, then turned in one of the best short seasons of any ACC player in 2020, hitting .448/.522/.655 with two homers, six doubles and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (six). He played a slick second base as a freshman and made a seamless transition to third base as a sophomore, but he also handled shortstop very ably in the fall. With fluid actions, sure hands, quick feet and plenty of arm strength, Morissette’s defensive versatility is an asset, but he profiles best as a well-rounded second baseman in the Joe Panik mold. He is one of the best pure hitters in this draft class, with a quick smooth lefthanded stroke that is tailor-made to rack up doubles from gap to gap. He seems destined to hit for average, but he also has serious buggywhip in his swing and emerging strength in his 6-foot frame, giving him a chance to hit for average or slightly better power as he matures. Morissette is a live athlete who also runs well and has good instincts on the basepaths, though he isn’t a true burner. His all-around tool set and advanced hit tool make him a strong bet to be drafted on Day One in 2021.

Took balanced cuts with a lot of quality contact while flashing some pull-side pop. Following-up on a strong .320/.371/.476 freshman campaign for BC this spring, Morissette showed a high level of comfort in the box this summer and an ability to drive the gaps. There’s breakout potential next spring and a chance for the profile to emerge as a solid Day Two target for 2021.