PJ Morlando arrives at loanDepot park: 'now it's time to get to work'

MIAMI -- Five days after being selected 16th overall in the 2024 MLB draft, high school outfielder PJ Morlando met the media at loanDepot park on Friday afternoon before the Marlins began a four-game set against the New York Mets. 

"It's a dream come true. When I got that phone call, it felt unreal," said the first-rounder. "I just have an awesome feeling walking into this Marlins facility, doing my thing and feeling comfortable to play baseball."

Per reports, Morlando is expected to begin his professional career with the FCL Marlins and, shortly after, move up to Low-A Jupiter as the FCL season ends on July 25. 

"Hopefully, I start down there soon. If I could go down there to start right now, I would. I'm really excited; this is the opportunity I've been praying for my entire life," added Morlando. 

Being drafted 16th had significant meaning for the 19-year-old. "16 is such a family-heavy number, it meant so much to us. My birthday is May 16; it's always been my number. 2016 was also such a special year for me and my family."

While the tradition of having their draft picks take batting practice on the field seemingly came to an end, Morlando had the nice experience of getting to pick the brains of the current big-league Marlins. "I was even able to go into the hitter's meeting and see how they communicate with each other about previous pitchers they've faced, who they're going to face tonight and so much more. It was really cool to see."

This marked the first draft under the direction of president of baseball ops Peter Bendix and director of amateur scouting Frank Piliere. Morlando's selection in the middle of round one caught the industry off-guard as he was ranked as the 52nd-best prospect by Baseball America, 43rd by MLB Pipeline and 33rd by FanGraphs. When asked if getting the call so early was surprising, the young outfielder said, "A little bit for sure, but I'm confident and afterward, there were a lot of tears, smiles, hugs and now it's time to get to work."

A University of South Carolina commit, Morlando led his high school team with a .403 BA to go along with a Barry Bonds-like .602 on-base percentage. Additionally, he won the High School Home Run Derby and the MVP Award at the High School All-American Game last July in Seattle. 

"We think he has future 70-grade game power," Piliere told Fish On First. 

Following the pick, Piliere told reporters that Morlando will have "every chance" to play center field professionally. A lot of scouts envision him moving to a corner outfield spot in the future. 

"I've been playing center for the past two years for my high school team. I've been taking every piece of information from my time with Team USA, coming out here to the workout I learned a few things that I can take into my future career as a center fielder," said Morlando. "I'm going to give it my very all and this is one of the things I'm most excited for is playing center field."

In an exclusive interview with Fish On First, Morlando compared his skill-set to current big leaguer Bryce Harper. "The swings are similar. We both started as catchers, became outfielders. He now plays first base and that's a position I also have in my back pocket."