The Atlanta Braves drafted Jonathan Morales out of Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus in the 25th round of the 2015 draft.
A native Puerto Rican, Morales was assigned to the Gulf Coast League affiliate by the Braves. In that assignment, he hit very well, going .304/.377/.511 with 7 home runs and 2 stolen bases, posting an identical 9.21% walk and strikeout rate.
After spending three games as a pinch hitter in the Caribbean Series for Puerto Rico, Morales jumped over advanced rookie Danville to low-A Rome in the South Atlantic League.
Morales benefited from the heavy defensive instruction in Rome, seeing monster defensive improvements on the season over some heavy questions with 11 passed balls in just 34 games behind the plate in 2015 to just 8 in nearly twice the games in 2016.