On the third day of the Major League Baseball Draft last month, the Atlanta Braves selected Miami-Dade College catcher and second baseman Jonathan Morales with the 750 pick in the 25th round.
The news spread joy at Miami-Dade College and its head coach Danny Price, as the native from Puerto Rico was taken by the Braves organization, one week after Morales was invited by the Miami Marlins for a workout.
According to scouts, Morales put on a sports performance that caught the attention of MLB, hitting 10 balls out of the park with just 30-40 swings, making catch and throws under 1.8 seconds, and running a decent 60-yard dash.
Morales said his faith in God helped him with the performance of a life time.
“Thank you God for always blessing me and giving the privilege of fulfilling my dream,” he said. “It’s only a first step of many in this new stage of my life, in which I will have to work double as hard or triple as hard.”
Morales thanked his coaches, teammates and family for helping pushing him to success.
This past season, Morales, who also played short-stop and third base, was named to the First Team All-Southern Conference and was chosen Southern Conference Player of the Year.
Morales finished the season with 30 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, a .389 batting average and a .492 slugging average.