It was just a month ago that former UT starter Bryan Morgado and his family, in their hometown of Miami, Fla., huddled around a computer to watch the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Morgado said he was “waiting and waiting and waiting,” and finally his name was called in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Phillies to the screams of everyone in the room.
The selection was a mixed bag for Morgado, who was chosen in the third round in 2009 by the Chicago White Sox but elected to return for his junior year at UT.
But his junior season was arguably his worst as a Vol. He posted a 7.90 earned-run average, risen from 4.59 in 2008 and 6.36 in 2009. He had a 2-7 record in 13 starts, with the highest batting average against (.289) of his UT career.
Morgado said he checked his expectations at the door after his junior year.
“I wasn’t expecting to go that high,” he said. “Before the season had started, I expected to go really high, and the way the year went, I knew I had dropped a few rounds. I went where I expected, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise.”
In the year since his decision to not go with the White Sox in the third round, Morgado said he had asked himself, “Why did I come back?” He said he thought about the extra money that he could have gotten from signing last year as a third-round selection, in addition to the fact that his junior year “really didn’t work out.”
“But then again, you look at the positive things,” he said. “I’m with the Phillies and Herman Demmink, who was our strength coach in Knoxville. He was with the Phillies, so everything he taught us strength-wise came from the Phillies. So coming here, I already knew all the different exercises, all the different things the Phillies taught their guys. So I was already ahead of them.”
Morgado also said that, as a result of going back for his junior year, he learned from mistakes that he’s glad he made in college and not at the professional level. In addition, he said he was now about four classes away from graduating.
Morgado said some things at the collegiate level, like learning how to be a part of a team and working out at that level, have made him feel he has an edge over players who have not experienced that before.
“I had my ups and downs, but I loved Knoxville,” he said. “The people were great to me there, the fans. I met a lot of great people, I had a lot of friends there. I actually can’t wait to go back. Hopefully I go back for a football game this fall, because that’s my favorite part of the year.”
“I was very thankful for every opportunity I got there,” he said. “I just wish things had ended up a little different.”
Former teammate and fellow draftee P.J. Polk remembers Morgado fondly.
“Bryan was a good guy,” Polk said. “He worked hard and wanted to do his best to help the team. You could never doubt his work ethic.”
Polk said Morgado’s abilities emboldened the team.
“Yeah, mainly just because Bryan had good stuff, we knew that when he was on, we had a chance to win,” Polk said.
Now Morgado has received the full tour of the Phillies’ stadium -- stepping onto Citizens Bank Park’s grass, into the locker room and the clubhouse. He looks forward to the next phase of his career.
“I’m very excited,” Morgado said. “It’s a great opportunity. I worked my whole life to get here to where I’m at. I’ll continue working hard. We’re very thankful, me and my family. It’s a great organization. They treat their guys really well. I’m looking forward to a great career with them.”
Morgado was activated by the single-A Williamsport Crosscutters, part of the Phillies’ organization, on July 2 and saw his first in-game action on Tuesday in Vermont.
“They had me on a pitch count, and I had been throwing a few bullpens,” he said.
He said he threw well, striking out the first batter he faced.
“I was a little nervous at first, but I think that went away as the inning went on,” he said. “I was very happy to be out there, just to compete again.”
The organization has plans for Morgado to be a starter, but he said he would be happy in any capacity as long as he got a chance to pitch.
“Everything in the past, it’s the past,” he said. “Just forget it, and you can only move forward from here and start a new chapter in your life.”