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Biography[]
Morgan Ensberg (Morgan Paul Ensberg) was born on August 26, 1975 in Redondo Beach, California. He made his Major League debut on September 20, 2000 for the Houston Astros. In 2002, his rookie year, he hit .242 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI. Ensberg has played for the Houston Astros for his entire 6 year career.
Most people believe that Morgan Ensberg's best season was 2005, when he slugged 36 home runs, hit for a .283 average and knocked in 101 runs.
Scouting Report[]
Batting[]
Ensberg is one of the better pure hitters in the league. He has a phenomenal eye at the plate and rarely gets himself out. He's one of the premier third baseman in the league right now, having refined his approach and developed power to all fields rather than being strictly a pull hitter. He works the count very well and is content to take a walk if the pitcher doesn't give in. He's one of the better clutch hitters the Astros have, and is a rare power hitter that changes his approach with two strikes. Ensberg's biggest weakness may be that he's too patient; he'll often fall behind in the count early by taking pitches down the middle in an attempt to work the count and most of his strike outs come on called third strikes.
Baserunning and Defense[]
Ensberg has the speed to be a moderate stolen base threat but his instincts and jumps leave a lot to be desired. He doesn't read pitchers well which results in poor jumps, and he is prone to making mistakes on the basepaths. With his speed he could stand to be more aggressive, but that may result in him running into more outs.
Ensberg's defense has come a long, long way since his first full season in 2003. He's vastly improved his hands and his range, definitely helped along the way by Adam Everett. He has a strong arm but his accuracy is poor. With all the strides he's made in his defense, he'll never be a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman and at this point is merely average; slightly above average at best.
Overall[]
Along with Lance Berkman, Ensberg looks to solidify the middle of Houston's lineup for the next few years. A late bloomer, Ensberg has only recently come into his own as a hitter. Still, at this point he's one of the best third basemen in baseball and the Astros don't seem to have any plans to replace him anytime in the near future.
Statistics[]
Batting Stats[]
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | 2B | 3B | BB | SO | HBP | SH | SB | IBB | GDP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | HOU | N | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .286 | .286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | HOU | N | 49 | 132 | 14 | 32 | 3 | 19 | .242 | .346 | .394 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 2003 | HOU | N | 127 | 385 | 69 | 112 | 25 | 60 | .291 | .377 | .530 | 15 | 1 | 48 | 60 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| 2004 | HOU | N | 131 | 411 | 51 | 113 | 10 | 66 | .275 | .330 | .411 | 20 | 3 | 36 | 46 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 17 |
| 2005 | HOU | N | 150 | 526 | 86 | 149 | 36 | 101 | .283 | .388 | .557 | 30 | 3 | 85 | 119 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| 2006 | HOU | N | 127 | 387 | 67 | 91 | 23 | 58 | .235 | .396 | .463 | 17 | 1 | 101 | 96 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| 2007 | HOU | N | 85 | 224 | 36 | 52 | 8 | 31 | .232 | .323 | .384 | 10 | 0 | 31 | 48 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2007 | SD | N | 30 | 58 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 8 | .224 | .308 | .483 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | TOT | N | 115 | 282 | 47 | 65 | 12 | 39 | .230 | .320 | .404 | 13 | 0 | 38 | 67 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 703 | 2130 | 334 | 564 | 109 | 343 | .265 | .366 | .476 | 102 | 10 | 326 | 414 | 21 | 8 | 22 | 18 | 57 |
Fielding Stats[]
| Year | Team | POS | G | GS | INN | PO | A | ERR | DP | TP | PB | SB | CS | PkO | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | HOU | N | 3B | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 |
| 2002 | HOU | N | 3B | 43 | 37 | 328.1 | 28 | 76 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .929 |
| 2003 | HOU | N | 3B | 111 | 89 | 818 | 77 | 184 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .967 |
| 2003 | HOU | N | DH | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | HOU | N | 3B | 118 | 103 | 920.2 | 80 | 164 | 13 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .949 |
| 2004 | HOU | N | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2005 | HOU | N | 3B | 148 | 147 | 1286.1 | 100 | 296 | 15 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .964 |
| 2006 | HOU | N | 3B | 117 | 106 | 975 | 80 | 230 | 12 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .963 |
| 2007 | HOU | N | 3B | 68 | 52 | 492.1 | 36 | 107 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .929 |
| 2007 | SD | N | 3B | 12 | 10 | 92.2 | 3 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .970 |
| 2007 | SD | N | 1B | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .889 |
| 2007 | TOT | N | 3B | 80 | 62 | 585 | 39 | 136 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .936 |
| Total | DH | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| Total | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| Total | 3B | 618 | 545 | 4922.1 | 405 | 1087 | 70 | 117 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .955 | ||
| Total | 1B | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .889 |
Transactions[]
- Selected by Seattle Mariners in the 61st round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 2, 1994).
- Selected by Houston Astros in the 9th round of the free-agent draft (June 2, 1998 - signed June 18, 1998).