David Morgan played the left side of the infield in junior college before he first climbed on a mound in 2022 for Hope International, an NAIA program based in Fullerton, Calif.
He threw 9.1 innings that year and another 10 for Portland that summer in the West Coast League. The results weren’t great, but Padres area scout Justin Baughman saw enough to make sure that Morgan wound up at a predraft workout at Petco Park.
The righthander made enough of an impression that the Padres signed him as an undrafted free agent on Aug. 1, 2022.
Less than three years later, a 25-year-old Morgan earned his first big league callup, though he didn’t appear in a game before being optioned to Triple-A El Paso seven days later.
Making seven April appearances for Double-A San Antonio, Morgan struck out 19, walked one and allowed three home runs in 8.2 innings. His fastball sits in the high 90s. His power slider misses bats.
“The Padres saw I had a pretty good arm and gave me an opportunity,” Morgan said. “I’ve been kind of learning on the fly through the organization, and this year I kind of started to settle in and really learn how to pitch and manage games.”
Morgan finished 2024 at Double-A but looked like a different pitcher this year at the level. His strikeout rate surged from 19% last year to 50% in 2025. He shrunk his walk rate from 11% to 2.6%.
“The No. 1 thing that probably flashes is the velocity,” Morgan said. “That’s kind of steadily climbed throughout my career. But my slider, being able to throw that pitch in the zone has been opening a lot of doors for me.
“And then my curveball, that too has been a good putaway pitch for most guys.”
Morgan’s callup was a full-circle moment. He was born in the San Diego neighborhood of Mira Mesa and spent his youth going to Padres games. He later prepped at Mission Viejo High, about 65 miles up the coast, before playing for the late John Altobelli at Orange Coast JC.
FATHER FIGURES
— The Padres promoted Sean Barnett to High-A Fort Wayne after he opened the season with two homers and a .289/.396/.511 batting line in 11 games for Low-A Lake Elsinore. An 11th-round pick last year out of Wingate, Barnett is working strictly as a DH as the Padres are developing the righthander as a two-way prospect. Barnett hit 26 homers last year at Wingate, a Division II program in North Carolina, and threw just 17.2 innings in a three-year collegiate career. He is throwing about two bullpens a week as the Padres prepare to unveil him on the mound, perhaps before the end of May.
— Two infielders from the 2024 draft made their pro debuts in early May. Third-round shortstop Cobb Hightower joined Low-A Lake Elsinore on May 2. Fifth-round third baseman Kale Fountain, who had Tommy John surgery after the draft, will work as a DH initially in the Arizona Complex League.