Tom Gorzelanny Trade Includes Michael Burgess, Two Other Prospects

Earlier on Monday, the Cubs and Nationals swung a Tom Gorzelanny trade that sent the young lefty to Washington in exchange for three young players. Courtesy of William Ladson, we now have their names.

The first is 22-year-old Michael Burgess. Burgess was the 49th overall pick in the 2007 draft, and is a left-handed outfielder that spent much of last season with A-ball Potomac. He has a fair amount of power and defensive tools to build on, but his batting approach needs work and he isn’t a top prospect. Between two levels in 2010, he batted .265 with an .822 OPS.

Next is A.J. Morris. Morris is a 24-year-old righty pitcher who was a fourth-round pick in 2009. He also spent much of 2010 with Potomac, posting a 3.88 ERA over 72 innings between the rotation and the bullpen. He works off of a low-90s fastball and a developing changeup, and he was the collegiate arm to finish second behind Stephen Strasburg for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award (given to the nation’s best college player).

Finally, there’s Graham Hicks. Hicks is a soon-to-be 21-year-old lefty who was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 draft. Hicks doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, but he does possess a useful slider and changeup, and he showed some promise last season with A-ball Hagerstown. He, like Burgess and Morris, is a long ways away.

The Nationals didn’t cough up any blue chip prospects, but were able to land some rotation depth in Gorzelanny who could help out for a number of years. From the Cubs’ perspective, Gorzelanny was on the outside looking in anyway, so they took what they could get for an arm without a job.