The gamble the Athletics made on acquiring Kade Morris from the New York Mets in exchange for All-Star Paul Blackburn at last year’s trade deadline seems to be paying off, as the 2020 Pitman High graduate and current Athletics prospect was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday following a strong start to the season in Double-A Midland.

“Oh, it’s a great feeling,” said Morris. “They let me know in front of the whole team down there (in Midland) and it was a cool moment, and it’s exciting to know I’m just one step away now from the majors.”

The right-hander sported a 2.79 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP with 48 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings over 9 starts with the RockHounds. In many of his appearances, he lacked run support, which explained his 2-3 record despite his 3.83 runs-per-nine innings mark and 4.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Morris felt the call was coming sooner rather than later considering the success he was experiencing. 

“I knew I was doing good, but with stuff like that, you just try not to involve yourself in it and instead just focus on getting better,” he said. “When you start thinking, ‘Am I going to get moved up this week? Or this week. Or this week?,’ you can go crazy over that stuff. You can’t focus on the stats. I feel like I’ve done a good job at that so far this year, and I want to stay dialed in and with my head underwater, if you will, and just super focused on what I can actually control.”

Morris, 22, was tabbed as the starter Sunday at Las Vegas Ballpark to face Oklahoma City, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Comets had a fair share of big-league hitters step into the box against the former Pride standout, including James Outman, who homered in the first at-bat of the game. Morris and the Aviators were in a 2-0 hole after an RBI double by Chris Okey in the second inning. 

Nevertheless, Morris buckled down and exited after 5 1/3 innings in a 2-2 game and a man on second base. That runner ended up scoring on a base hit surrendered by reliever David Leal, closing the book on the Turlocker’s debut at three earned runs on seven hits and a walk while punching out four. Three of his strikeouts came against players with major league experience — Outman, Michael Chavis and Nick Senzel.

The Aviators went on to lose 12-3, dropping their record to 34-22.

“Facing guys with more experience, they've seen so many more pitches and they have good approaches,” Morris said. “When it comes down to it, you just have to execute even more. You can get away with some of the bad pitches in Double-A, but in Triple-A, these guys are not going to miss mistakes, so you have to be dialed in. 

“Knowing guys like Outman, you need to know where their holes are, where do they not cause damage? And then when they get to two strikes, in those vulnerable counts, where can I go to send them back on the bench? Outman did get me the first time. Good for him. But I came back and I adjusted. It was a good ‘Welcome’ moment, for sure.”

This isn’t Morris’ first rodeo in Las Vegas, but it’s clear that his latest stint in Sin City carries much more weight.

It’s the second stint with the Aviators for him, the first being at the conclusion of last season as the A’s hoped to get the right-hander extra work after the Blackburn deal. He accumulated just 5 2/3 innings over two appearances. But instead of sending him to Vegas to get more innings, the latest assignment from the Athletics organization comes as reward for his performances with Midland and with the purpose of testing his stuff out against tougher competition. 

“It feels like the real thing now,” Morris said with a laugh. “You know, I worked my way up, from Low-A to then me getting traded and needing to get adjusted, to starting this year off at Double-A, it's exciting to keep climbing the ladder.”

Morris currently ranks as the No. 15 prospect in the A’s farm system, though three are currently with the big league squad up in West Sacramento — Nick Kurtz (No. 1), Denzel Clarke (No. 5), and Gunnar Hogland (No. 14).

The Aviators began a six-game road series against Tacoma of the Seattle Mariners organization on Tuesday. Morris will be back in action Friday, where he is expected to face a plethora of former Modesto Nuts players including Harry Ford, Colin Davis and Tyler Locklear.

Looking ahead, the Aviators will be in the state capitol to take on the RiverCats for a six-game series from July 22-27 in what will be their first visit to the renovated Sutter Health Park since their parent club moved from Oakland over the offseason.