Franklin Morales #56

Was just 16 years old when he signed with the Rockies in 2002.

2013

Limited to just 20 games after having 2 stints on the disabled list with 2 different injuries...Began the year on the DL with a low back strain...Also missed time with a left pectoralis strain... Placed on the DL on 3/31 (retro to 3/22) with a low back strain...Made 5 rehab appearances for Short-A Lowell, Double-A Portland, and Triple-A Pawtucket, and was 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA (6 ER/17.0 IP) in those appearances... Activated from the DL on 5/28...Made Red Sox season debut in a spot start on 5/30 at PHI and earned the win (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER)... Earned 2nd win in his 3rd appearance of the year on 6/10 in the Sox' 10-8 victory in 14 innings at TB... Placed on the 15-day DL with a left pectoralis strain on 6/25 (retro to 6/23)...Made 4 rehab appearances between Pawtucket and Portland and posted a 1.69 ERA (1 ER/5.1 IP) in those games... No runs in 15 of his 19 relief appearances...Threw more than 1.0 inning in 6 of his 19 relief appearances... Held left-handed batters to a .184 AVG (7-for-38)...Allowed just 2 hits to lefties in their final 17 at-bats (.118 AVG) against him... Retired 15 of 19 first batters faced (79%) and stranded 7 of his 10 inherited runners... Allowed 8 of his 13 ER in 2 appearances (4 ER on 6/8 vs. LAA, and 4 ER on 6/22 at DET)...Excluding those 2 games, had a 2.01 ERA (5 ER/22.1 IP)... Posted a 2.08 ERA (3 ER/13.0 IP) with a .217 opp. AVG (10-for-46) over his final 14 games beginning 8/16...Had a 7.30 ERA (10 ER/12.1 IP) over his 1st 6 games (1 start).

2012

Made 28 relief appearances and a career-high 9 starts in his 1st full season with the Red Sox before missing the club's last 37 games due to injury. Set career highs with both 76.1 innings and 76 strikeouts...His 9.0 strikeouts per 9.0 innings was the 8th-best rate among AL hurlers with at least 75.0 innings...His 9.3 K-rate as a starter (47 K/45.2 IP) ranked 5th in the AL among pitchers with at least 40.0 innings as a starter. Went 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA (21 ER/45.2 IP) and 47 strikeouts in 9 starts...Was 0-1 with a 3.23 ERA (11 ER/30.2 IP), 1 save, and 8 holds in 28 relief outings. Totaled a 2.66 ERA (13 ER/44.0 IP) with 49 strikeouts on the road...Posted a 0.93 WHIP and held opponents to a .176 AVG (28-for-159) away from BOS. Surrendered just 1 homer in 113 plate appearances vs. left-handed hitters (Curtis Granderson, 8/17 at NYY)... Held lefties to a .184 AVG (18-for-98) and .224 SLG, the 5th-lowest SLG for an AL hurler (min. 100 BF vs. LHB). Among major leaguers with at least 75.0 innings, had the 4th-lowest percentage of swings put in play (35.0%) and the 5th-lowest percentage of pitches put in play (15.9%)...Also placed 6th among American Leaguers in percent of swings that miss (25.8%). Had a 9.53 ERA (12 ER/10.2 IP) against the Yankees compared to a 2.74 mark (20 ER/65.2 IP) against the rest of baseball...Allowed a career-high 4 homers on 7/7 (G1) vs. NYY and 8/17 at NYY...8 of 11 home runs allowed all season came against NYY. 21 of 28 relief appearances were scoreless, including 17 of his last 22 (2.52 ERA, 7 ER/25.0 IP) and 6 of his last 8 (1.88, 3 ER/14.1 IP). Collected 6 holds in April, matching Greg Harris in 1994 and Mike Timlin in 2006 for the most by a Red Sox in April since 1921. Held opponents to 1 run or less and 3 hits or less in a team-high 3 starts (6/28 at SEA, 7/13 at TB, 8/5 vs. MIN)...Trailed only David Price (6), Chris Sale (6), Drew Smyly (4), and Tommy Milone (4) among AL lefties. Posted a 2.00 ERA (4 ER/18.0 IP), 24 K's and just 3 walks over 1st 3 starts with BOS from 6/17-28...In those 3 tilts, collected the 3 largest strikeout totals of his career (9 at CHC on 6/17, 8 vs. ATL on 6/23, 7 at SEA on 6/28)... Became 1st Sox pitcher to fan at least 7 batters in each of his 1st 3 starts of a season since Curt Schilling in 2004. With 9 K's on 6/17, became the 1st AL pitcher to fan at least 9 with no walks in an outing of 5.0 innings or less since CLE's Dave Burba on 9/20/00 at BOS (G2)...Since 1916, the only other Red Sox to do that was John Henry Johnson on 8/7/84 vs. DET (G2) (9 K in 5.0 IP). Became the 1st Red Sox with at least 8 strikeouts and no more than 1 walk or 2 earned runs allowed in each of his 1st 2 starts of a season since 1913 (when ER began being calculated in the AL)...Was the 1st AL pitcher to do that in his 1st 2 starts of a season since Ted Lilly and Roy Halladay in 2002...According to Elias, became the 1st Red Sox ever to have 8 K's and no more than 1 walk or 2 earned runs over his 1st 2 starts for the team. Did not factor in the decision on 6/17 at CHC in his 1st start with BOS and his 1st start overall since 4/21/09 at ARI with COL...Earned 1st win of the season on 6/23 vs. ATL, his 1st as a starter since 4/8/09 at ARI with COL...Pitched 7.0 scoreless innings on 6/28 at SEA, the longest outing of his career. In the 3rd inning on 7/7 vs. NYY (G1), became the 1st Red Sox pitcher to record 2 pickoffs in a single frame since Tom House in the 8th inning on 7/16/76 at KC (G1). Placed on the 15-day DL on 8/28 (retro to 8/24) with left shoulder inflammation...Transferred to the 60-day DL on 9/12 and did not pitch again for the remainder of the season.

2011

Appeared in a career-high 50 games overall between the Red Sox and Rockies...Also set career marks in innings pitched (46.1), strikeouts (42) and holds (10). Held opponents scoreless in 38 of his 50 contests, including 28 with Boston. In 25 road appearances overall on the year had a 1.27 ERA (3 ER/21.1 IP) and .155 opponent AVG (11-for-71) while recording 6 holds...Allowed runs in just 2 road games, 1 with the Red Sox (2 R/1.0 IP on 5/25 at CLE)...Had a 1.13 ERA (2 ER/16.0 IP) and .161 opponent AVG (9-for-56) in 18 road tilts with the Sox. Compiled an 0-1 record with a 3.86 ERA (6 ER/14.0 IP), 11 strikeouts and 8 walks over 14 appearances with the Rockies to start the season, holding opponents to a .204 AVG (10-for-49). Acquired by the Red Sox from Colorado on 5/19 in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations...Pitched in 36 games for Boston out of the bullpen. Threw less than 1.0 inning 16 times with Boston, the most such outings on the staff. Made 16 appearances against AL East rivals and tallied a 1.98 ERA (3 ER/13.2 IP) over those contests, the best mark among Sox relievers vs. the AL East (min. 10.0 IP). Placed on 15-day disabled list on 5/29 (retroactive to 5/26) with a left forearm strain...Made 6 rehab appearances with Triple-A Pawtucket from 6/11-25 before being activated on 6/28. Held opponents scoreless in 28 of 34 outings after coming off the DL on 6/28, compiling a 3.38 ERA (11 ER/29.1 IP) in that time...Tallied 15.0 scoreless frames over 17 road outings during that span. Threw 1.1 perfect innings 7/17 at TB, matching his longest career outing without allowing a base runner (also 7/9/09 vs. ATL). Allowed runs in just 1 of 13 August outings, yielding a 2-run homer (Carlos Santana) in 0.1 inning on 8/4 vs. CLE...Recorded a 1.86 ERA in the month (9.2 IP). Posted a career-long, 10-game scoreless streak from 8/7-30...Threw 7.1 straight scoreless frames over 11 games from 8/7-9/3 (8th inning)...Held opponents scoreless in 16 of his last 19 outings from the beginning of that stretch through the end of the season for a 2.25 ERA in that time (4 ER/16.0 IP). Did not issue a walk in a career-high 14 straight games from 8/9-9/14 (11.0 IP).

2010

Began the season on the Rockies Opening Day roster as the team's primary closer...had three saves in five opportunities but lost job to Manuel Corpas in early May before going on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder weakness...was reinstated from the disabled list on 6/2 after making two rehab appearances, a total of 5.0 innings pitched, for Triple-A Colorado Springs...optioned to Triple-A 7/1 when Esmil Rogers was recalled...Was recalled a final time 8/27 from Triple-A Colorado Springs prior to the game vs. LAD...struckout one and walked two in 0.2 innings in that game...left with two runners on, one came around to score...was his first outing since 6/30 at SD...He went 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA (30.1 ip, 9 er), allowing 19 walks and striking out 34 in 24 appearances for Colorado Springs...had not allowed a run over his past nine appearances for Colorado Springs and had 14 strikeouts in 12.0 innings...Over his final five outings of the season allowed just one hit, one run, no earned runs and two walks while striking out three over 2.2 innings...Held left-handed hitters to a .171 (6-for-35) batting average in 2010, allowing just two extra-base hits...overall held hitters to just a .255 (28-for-110) average...Inherited 14 runners this season, allowing just three to score (21.4 percent)...also finished a career-high 15 games topping 2009 when he finished 14 games for the Rockies...Finished the season with 20 middle relief outings from the bullpen...Has 73 consecutive appearances out of the bullpen since starting his Major League career with 15 straight starts.

2009

Began the season as the club's No. 5 starter and finished as a late-inning reliever...began the year on the Major League roster, but following his start 4/8 at ARI (Win, 6.0 ip, 1 er), the Rockies optioned him to the minors...was recalled 4/21 for his start again at ARI as Rox won...went on the DL the following day (strained left shoulder)...stayed on the DL from 4/22-6/12...club optioned him back to the minors 6/12 when he came off the DL...was recalled 7/7 and pitched out of the bullpen the rest of the season...he made a total 2 starts in 2009, both vs. ARI (1-0, 3.38 ERA)...entered with bases loaded 7/7 vs. WAS struck out only batter faced (Nyjer Morgan); marked the first reg. season relief outing of his career...did not allow any runs in his first 9 relief outings (7.1 ip), a streak that was snapped 7/27 at New York when he allowed a gamewinning grand slam to Fernando Tatis (only batter faced); charged with one run, as he inherited a bases loaded situation...earned the win in consecutive outings, 7/31-8/2, both games at Cincinnati...was charged with his first blown save 7/21 vs. ARI but was not being used as the closer at the time...took over the closing duties while Huston Street was on the DL in early September, converting all 7 of his chances...in fact, he earned a save in 6 consecutive appearances from 9/2-11, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings in that span...took his first loss of the season 9/12 at SD, as he walked home the winning run in the 10th inning of that game...would go on to allow runs in 5 of his final 8 outings...from 9/12 through the end of the season he would post a 20.77 ERA (4.1 ip, 10 er)...made 9 appearances in that time, but would toss just 4.1 innings...held opponents to a .256 average against as a reliever in 2009, and a .250 average against on the season...lefties hit just .205 off him for the year.

2008

Began the season in the Rockies starting rotation before being optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs for the rest of the season...made 5 starts in April before being optioned on 4/30...went 1-2 with a 6.39 ERA (25.1 ip, 18 er) in his 5 starts with the Rockies...allowed just 2 hits and no runs in a no-decision 4/6 vs. ARI in his first start of the season...allowed 18 earned runs over 19.1 innings in his next four starts prior to being optioned...went 10-5 with a 5.47 ERA in 21 starts for the Sky Sox, his first extended action at Triple-A in his career (3 starts with Sky Sox in 2007)...became the first Sky Sox pitcher to win 10 games since Chris Gissell won 14 games in 2004...led the Sky Sox in wins (10), strikeouts (83), walks (82) and starts (21)...led the Sky Sox starters with a 5.47 ERA...went 6-0 with a 1.97 ERA (50.1 ip, 11 er) at

2007

One of the Rockies' top prospects, the 22-year-old Venezuelan was a member of the Rockies rotation for the final six weeks of the campaign...allowed just two home runs in 39.1 innings in the big leagues, this after allowing a long ball to his third batter faced in the majors...opponents batted just .241 (34-for-141), .273 (30-for-110) by right-handers and just a .129 (4-for-31) mark by lefties...opposition hit just .208 (10- for-48) with two outs, including .100 (1-for-10) with runners in scoring position and two outs...team was 6-2 in Morales' starts...made just two quality starts, as his pitch counts and innings were limited...averaged 6.64 runs of support per nine innings...had greater success in his 5 road starts (2-1, 2.05 ERA) than in his three outings at Coors Field (1-1, 6.23 ERA)...both wins came against NL East clubs: Philadelphia and Florida...had contract purchased from Triple-A Colorado Springs prior to his Major League debut on Aug. 18 at Los Angeles...took a no decision in the Rockies' 7-4, 14- inning victory (5.1 ip, 5 h, 1 r-er)...threw 79 pitches, 52 strikes (65.8%)...after fielding a Furcal bunt to lead off the game and inducing groundout, lone run allowed came on solo homer by Matt Kemp, third batter he had faced in the big leagues...other four hits allowed were all singles...retired first batter faced in sixth, then allowed consecutive singles before LaTroy Hawkins came on to strand both inherited runners...Morales exited with lead and was in position to win before Jorge Julio allowed two runs in eighth to tie game...neither team scored until Rox plated three runs in the 14th inning of a game that ended at 12:16 a.m. the next day...it was just the third 5-hour game in team history...in that debut, the one-time outfielder had a two-out RBI single in his first big league at-bat off Chad Billingsley in the 2nd inning...was charged with first career loss in next start Aug. 23 vs. Pittsburgh (4.0 ip, 7 h, 4 rer)... received a total of just four runs of support in his first two career starts...took loss on Aug. 28 at San Francisco despite allowing only two runs over 5.0 innings in Rockies' 3-1 defeat...was optioned to Colorado Springs after that start, but did not rejoin the Sky Sox...was recalled from Triple-A prior to next start on Sept. 4 vs. San Francisco, and allowed five runs in just 3.0 innings that night, but Rox came back for a 6-5 win...earned first Major League win on Sept. 11 at Philadelphia in Rockies' 8-2 victory (5.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r)...just one of his three hits allowed went for extra bases, a leadoff double by Pat Burrell in the fourth inning, and he was erased on a baserunning blunder shortly thereafter...five relievers closed out the win for Colorado...the 5.0 shutout innings came against the NL's top-scoring team in the park which averaged more runs per game than any other in the NL...it was one of just five times in 2007 that an opposing pitcher posted a scoreless start of 5.0+ innings in Philly...the others: Tom Glavine, Aug. 28 (7.0 ip); Adam Wainwright, July 15 (7.0 ip); Randy Johnson, May 30 (6.0 ip); and Matt Morris-with SF, June 1 (6.0 ip)...it was first of three straight scoreless outings for Morales...also won next start on Sept. 16 vs. Florida (6.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r), a Rockies' 13-0 win which began a club-record 11-game win streak for the Rockies...retired 14 straight batters in that game, which included a half-hour delay due to rain in the sixth inning...took no decision Sept. 21 at San Diego in Rockies' 2-1, 14-inning win (6.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r)...allowed three runs on four hits over 5.0 innings of work in his final start in the regular season on Sept. 27 at Los Angeles...had entered the game with a 17-inning scoreless streak, the longest by a Rockie in '07...shut out the Dodgers over his first three innings, but gave up an RBI triple to James Loney in the fourth inning, snapping the streak at 20 innings, tied with Denny Neagle (Aug. 3- 20, 2002) for the longest in club history...combined to go 5-4 with a 3.51 ERA (112.2 ip, 44 er) in 20 games/starts with Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Colorado Springs this season...began the year with Tulsa, spending the season's first three months in Double-A...went 3-4 with a 3.48 ERA (95.2 ip, 37 er) in 17 games/starts for the Drillers...was on disabled list May 2-24 with a left hamstring strain...the Drillers won 11 of his 17 games...seven of his 17 assignments were quality outings and allowed three runs or less in 13 of his 17 games...his three victories came over his last four starts with Tulsa, as he went 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA (29.0 ip, 7 er) during that span...struck out a season-high 10 batters on July 18 vs. Springfield and tossed his second career complete game on July 29 at Arkansas, in what was his final start at the Double-A level before being transferred to Triple-A on Aug. 3...started 3 games for Colorado Springs, going 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA (17.0 ip, 7 er)...between Tulsa and Colorado Springs this season, held opposing batters at a .241 (97-for-403) average against, with left-handers at .250 (25-for-100) and righties at .238 (72-for-303).

2006

In his first season in High-A ball, went 10-9 with a 3.68 ERA (154.0 ip, 63 er) in 27 games/26 starts for Modesto...led the California League in ERA and strikeouts (179), but also ranked second in walks (89)...his strikeout total ranked fourth among all minor leaguers for the season...held the opposition to a .223 average, with lefties at .193 (23-for-119) and right-handers at .231 (103-for-446)...opponents hit just .197 (34-for-173) with runners in scoring position...accomplished all this despite being the second-youngest player to spend the entire year in the Cal League...while several younger players appeared in games during the year, only Stockton's Ryan Webb, Oakland's fourth round pick in 2004, spent the entire year in the league...Webb (born 2/5/86) is just 12 days younger than Morales...no position player younger than the duo appeared in more than 59 games, and no pitcher born after the pair made more than nine appearances...compiled 15 quality starts...allowed three earned runs or less in 21 outings and pitched 6.0 or more frames in 17 starts...made his Nuts debut pitching out of the bullpen on April 12 vs. Lakewood...was moved into the starting rotation for the rest of the season after that contest...won three straight starts May 25-June 6, posting a 2.50 ERA (18.0 ip, 5 er) in that span...registered double digit strikeouts twice, but recorded seven or more K's in a game on 14 occasions...posted career-high 16 strikeouts on Aug. 18 at San Jose in 3-2 win...tossed just 7.0 innings in that contest, retiring 16 of 27 batters faced via the strikeout...in his previous start Aug. 12 at Visalia, tossed 8.0 innings and allowed just one hit...over his final seven starts beginning Aug. 2, opponents hit just .151 (23-for-152) with no home runs...went 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA (32.0 ip, 8 er) over his final five starts...won five of his last seven decisions...had 28 assists in the field, most of any pitcher in the league...tabbed by Baseball America as having the best curveball in Colorado's minor league system and ranked by the same publication as the second-best prospect in the Rockies chain entering the 2007 season...also named third-best Cal League prospect.

2005

Went 8-4 with a 3.08 ERA (96.1 ip, 33 er) with 108 strikeouts in 21 games/15 starts for Asheville...tied for the team lead in wins and ranked second on club in K's...led South Atlantic League with seven balks...posted 6-4 record with 3.23 ERA (78.0 ip, 28 er) in 15 starts...went 2-0 with 2.45 ERA (18.1 ip, 5 er) and one save in four relief appearances...opponents batted just .214, with lefties at .180 (9-for-50) and right-handers at .220 (64-for-291)...opposition was just 4-for-40 (.100) with RISP and two outs...after bouncing between starting and relief work to begin the year, made 12 straight starts to end the season starting at the beginning of July...over his final 11 starts beginning July 8, went 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA (60.0 ip, 14 er)...earned only career save on May 17 vs. West Virginia, pitching 3.0 scoreless frames in 14-0 win...allowed two runs or less in 12 of 15 starts...rated as the third-best prospect in the Rockies organization by Baseball America entering '06.

2004

In his first season in the U.S., tied teammate Samuel Deduno for the Pioneer League lead with 15 starts...ranked second in the league in strikeouts (82) and T3rd in wins (6)...averaged 11.35 strikeouts per nine innings, second-best in the league...hurled league's only CG shutout of 2004, a rain-shortened 3-0 victory over Provo in his final start on Sept. 3...blanked Provo over 5.0 innings, allowing two hits with 11 K's.

2003

The 17-year-old pitched for Rockies in Dominican Summer League in his pro debut, going 9-3 with a 2.18 ERA (78.1 ip, 19 er) in 13 game/starts...opponents batted just .211 (58-for-275) as he did not allow a home run.