The Rebels had just one player drafted on day one of the 2025 MLB Draft. It was RHP Mason Morris, who was taken 83rd overall in the 3rd round by the Cincinnati Reds. This is the first Rebels taken on day 1 since 2023 and the highest Rebel pitcher drafted since Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund.
The Rebels do expect several other current players and signees to hear their name called as the rest of the rounds in the draft will start today at 11:30 AM EST. The draft will be livestreamed on MLB.com. Of course it benefits the Rebels if guys like Coy James and Judd Uttermark slid farther in the draft, giving them more of a shot of keeping them on the roster. Ole Miss star, Luke Hill, is expected to be taken off the board early on today.
Mason Morris is the first shining example of the development that pitching coach Joel Mangrum was able to do with the staff. He was able to take Morris from more of an after thought in the staff and turn him into a dominant SEC long reliever.
Morris pitched to a 3.29 ERA and 78 strikeouts in his 54.2 innings of work this past season. He was completely dominant, especially during the middle stretch of the SEC season and was the go to guy after Hunter on Fridays. There is a chance he is moved to a starting role in pro ball.
Here is the scouting report MLB Pipeline on Morris. "Morris intrigued scouts with his power arm and bat as a Mississippi prepster, though his 2022 senior season ended prematurely when he punctured his liver in an outfield collision. He battled his control and command for most of his first two college seasons at Mississippi before finding more success this spring. While the Rebels have used him almost exclusively as a reliever, a pro team may try him as a starter.
Morris' best pitch is a low-90s cutter that dives at the plate, and hitters can't lay off it or make much contact against it. He also throws a solid upper-80s slider with similar shape, and while it's less devastating than his cutter, he does a better job of landing it for strikes. Raising his arm slot helped him add 4 mph to his fastball as a junior, and he now deals at 95-97 mph with a peak of 99.
The downside is that Morris' heater has more downhill plane than life and doesn't miss bats in the strike zone, so he'll have to improve its shape at the next level. To survive in a rotation, he'll also need to develop some sort of changeup and continue to refine his inconsistent strike throwing. His 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame is built to handle the increased workload if he becomes a starter."
With this selection, Morris is scheduled to recieve a signing bonus just shy of a million dollars based on the slot value assigned to the 83rd pick. It is this kind of development that Mangrum was able to showcase that led the Rebels to amass a really strong transfer portal pitching class. Stay tuned for more MLB Draft coverage at Ole Hotty Toddy.