This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
How’s PJ Morlando, the Marlins’ first-round Draft pick from last year, doing?
“Tranquilo. I'm chilling. I'm feeling good.”
Morlando is underselling things.
After a lumbar stress reaction halted Morlando’s professional debut after just one at-bat, he transformed his body during the rehab process. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds when Miami selected him 16th overall, the club's No. 9 prospect is up to 220 pounds.
“That was a blessing in disguise, and I'm all positive about it, and I'm excited to show off what I've been working on in Spring Training, and it's going to be eye-opening for sure,” Morlando said. “It's been gradual. I did it when I was learning about my body during my couple weeks of rehab, and as soon as I came home from the hurricane that hit, I've been doing everything I was supposed to.
“Obviously getting back to lifting full weights definitely helps with muscle mass, and I've just been gaining it gradually. I think I had it. I just needed to get to it. I always had it in my body to get to that weight, but I just needed to get to it and learn the right things to do for that.”
Morlando was able to test out his changing physique at the Marlins’ development camp at the Dominican Republic Academy complex, where all 20 of Miami’s 2024 Draft signees trained for three weeks in November alongside the organization’s international prospects.
For six days a week, mainly from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., the players would lift, perform on-field work, hit in the cages and receive 1-on-1 development time. On the seventh day, a competition consisting of anything from tug of war to a sled push was held. It was reminiscent of a school field day.
Through it all, the difference in Morlando’s athleticism was obvious.
“I've been a way better runner,” Morlando said. “Most of my weight has been going into my legs and my core. Everything that I've been doing power wise has been going gradually up. Same thing with exit velo. When I was there in the Dominican, I hit a ball like 111-112 [mph]. It was good to see those numbers go up. It's been good for consistency, too, because sometimes when I was missing barrels, it would be lower. But right now, if I miss a barrel, it's still as high as it was before I added this weight.”
After training, the prospects went to class and learned a second language. The English speakers did a project on the state they were from, while the Spanish speakers did one on their country. Morlando improved his Spanish at “Call of Duty” parties and by watching videos.
During their limited downtime, the campers played cards. Since they were so busy, they tended to go to sleep by 9 p.m. One week, the Dominican prospects were allowed to go back to their homes for the day, while the Americans had a beach day. They attended Dominican Winter League games for Toros del Este and Tigres del Licey.
The Marlins also hosted prospects Agustin Ramirez, Dillon Head, Jared Serna and Victor Mesa Jr. for a few days so they could answer questions about their pro ball experience and offer words of advice to their younger peers.
The goal was to prepare the international players for stateside baseball and the Draft picks for their first full season.
“It was another taste of pro ball, because we got a short season and then three weeks in the Dominican of what pro ball really is,” Morlando said. “It was definitely a good takeaway to see what the work is and the schedules.”
But the biggest takeaway from the camp wasn’t on the diamond, in the cages or in the weight room. Morlando gained a greater appreciation for where he and his teammates come from.
A visit to the closest village provided a healthy dose of perspective. While stopping to pray with a local family, Morlando met a girl disabled from the waist down. The nearest hospital was more than an hour away, and there were no more wheelchairs to give out.
“I think it was definitely a humbling experience because a bad life here is a good life there, like it's an eye-opening experience,” said Morlando, who had never gone to the D.R. before but had visited Mexico with Team USA. “It makes you realize how much you have, how grateful you are for the opportunities that you get. And I said this on one of the videos that I did, but I definitely came back home and hugged my parents a little bit tighter, just for giving me the opportunities that I have.
“After seeing all that, and seeing how they take care of each other, how close they are as a family, and then obviously that was good to see where some of our teammates come from. I think it was just a very humbling and eye-opening experience for sure.”