Miami Marlins Prospect Cody Morissette Is New Hampshire Proud

© Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

MLB history includes 54 players born in the state of New Hampshire. Cody Morissette is hoping to become the 55th. A 22-year-old infielder who was drafted 52nd overall last year out of Boston College, Morissette is No. 11 on our newly-released Miami Marlins Top Prospects list.

A Manchester native who attended high school in Exeter, Morissette excelled at the collegiate level — he posted a .337/.400/.507 slash line in his three seasons as an Eagle — while being overshadowed by a high-profile teammate. Sal Frelick, himself a native New Englander, was taken 15th overall last year by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Morissette, who is slashing .232/.314/.444 with 12 home runs for the High-A Beloit Sky Carp, touched on his New Hampshire roots, and his big league aspirations, earlier this week.

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Morissette on his three-homer game on June 17:

“That was a special night for me. Along with being able to help the team win, it was really cool to hit three home runs, because it’s the first time I’ve done it on a big diamond. Baseball is a weird game. The night before, I was 0-for-5 with five strikeouts. I wanted to come back the next day and respond in a good way, and three home runs was definitely a good way to respond.”

On reports that he projects as hit-over-power:

“People write stuff. I play baseball. I don’t really care what anyone else says, I just go out there and try to do what the team needs me to do to win. But I’m always working on getting better. I’m learning how to be a pro and how to hit pro pitching. The goal is to get to the major leagues one day.”

On his swing and approach:

“I just try to hit line drives. That’s my approach. I’ve got a smooth swing and don’t try to do too much with the ball. This year, I’ve mis-hit a couple of line drives and they’ve gone over the fence.”

On some media entities showing that he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, the same school that produced Sam Fuld:

“I know the legend of Sam Fuld, but he went to the prep school in my town. I actually went to the public school, Exeter High School.”

On New Hampshire having produced a small number of big leaguers:

“I’m getting an opportunity, and that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter where I’m from. There have been some great players from New Hampshire, and a few have [played in the majors]. I want to be able to say that I’m one of those few; I want to join the group that made it from the little state of New Hampshire, from all those little towns. The goal is to get to the big leagues. I’m going to keep working for that.”

On having attended Boston College:

“That was the best decision I’ve ever made, going to school in Boston. You can’t beat it. I was blessed to have really good coaches and really good teammates. Those three years at Boston College changed my life. They helped me get to where I’m at today.”

On Sal Frelick:

“He was my roommate for three years. He’s my best friend. We got to play against each other this year for the first time in pro ball. That was pretty cool. We hit all the time in the wintertime. In the offseason, we’re always in the cage together, just kind of picking each other’s brains. We’ve been doing that for four years now. We’re completely different players, but we mix together very well. We both have little things to our swings, to our games, that we try to help each other out with.”

On how he and Frelick differ:

“Sal is fast. He’s twitchy. He’s got speed to his game, and really quick hands. I’m just smooth, kind of just going about playing the game. I do it quietly. Sal is always going to do something special during the game. It’s fun watching what he can do.”

On professional baseball being different from college baseball:

“They’re completely different, but they’re both baseball. College baseball is great. Pro ball is great. It’s the same greatness, just different. Yeah man, just different.”





David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. He can be followed on Twitter @DavidLaurilaQA.

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EFF51Member since 2019
2 years ago

Thank you