Fullerton, CA - David Morgan, a former alumni of the Hope International Baseball team became the first Royal to play for a major professional sports organization and the first one to ever start a game. Morgan was called up to the big leagues on April 27th and would make his first start on Sunday, July 6 against the Texas Rangers.
Morgan's journey to the big leagues started on July 22, 2022 when he signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres. Morgan was then called up by the Padres and made his pitching debut on May 26, 2025 throwing 2/3 shutout innings against the Miami Marlins in a 4-3 11 inning victory. A native of San Diego Morgan was especially excited to pitch for the Padres, "It's been an absolute dream. Being from San Diego originally and growing up coming to Petco Park made this experience even more amazing. This is the place I fell in love with baseball as a kid and to get the opportunity to continue to call this place my home is a blessing I can't even begin to describe."
Morgan has primarily been used as a relief pitcher but due to injuries was moved into a starter's role which he found out the morning of the game. On preparing for his first start Morgan adds, "Pretty much the same thing as always, just go out and compete with the goal of winning the game. My pitching coach Ruben Niebla called me the morning of and told me I was going to be starting the game that day. I didn't want to make it bigger than it was knowing that I was on a 40 pitch limit. My goal was to go out and be as efficient as possible to get as deep into the game as I could to set our bullpen up for success." Morgan did exactly that as he pitched 1 1/3 innings allowing just one run on four hits with walking one and striking out one as the Padres went on to defeat the Rangers 4-1.
Morgan's path to the big leagues might surprise some since it wasn't pitching that was his primary focus in college as he was a force at the plate at Orange Coast College before earning All GSAC honors with Hope International while batting .349 with 8 home runs and 35 RBIs. It was at Hope International where Morgan developed into a pitcher as he made eight appearances on the mound pitching 9 1/3 innings. Morgan credits the Royals coaching staff especially Head Coach
Larry Mahoney. "My coaches at HIU specifically
Larry Mahoney talked to me a couple weeks before the 2022 season started and told me I could possibly open the door a bit wider to get drafted if I threw off the mound a little bit." Morgan embraced the opportunity stating, "I decided why not, I knew I had a great arm in the infield and could maybe be a hard thrower. So I bought into the idea of me being a two way player that year and pitched my first game against my former Juco, OCC."
So far Morgan has made 15 appearances pitching 18 2/3 innings allowing just five runs while striking out 21 for a 2.41 ERA. Morgan and the Padres are currently battling for a playoff spot as they sit in third place in the National League West.
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