CHICAGO — There is no more uncertainty surrounding the status of Kade Morris, according to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay.

After three days of speculation of when the young pitching prospect from Turlock and 2020 graduate of Pitman High School could take a major league mound for the very first time in his career, it was revealed Thursday afternoon that Morris will start for the A's on Saturday in Houston against the Astros.

"Kade Morris is gonna start Saturday,” Kotsay said to start his pregame media availability Thursday. “For Kade, this is a guy that has grinded through the minor leagues, obviously. We feel really confident about where he's at right now. He's throwing the ball really well in Triple-A. I think there obviously is going to be a lot of excitement for him around this opportunity. We had a good talk today when I finally told him in the office... He's earned this opportunity, so we're gonna give him a shot."

First pitch from Houston’s Daikin Park on Saturday is 1:10 PST. The A’s entered Friday's series opener with a 30-32 record, claiming two of three from the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Morris, 23, learned of his call up on Sunday, as first reported by the Turlock Journal. The move was made official on Tuesday when Morris joined the club in Chicago ahead of the series. Kotsay couldn’t give a clear answer as to when the organization’s No. 12 prospect would make his MLB debut, saying he was available in relief on Tuesday and Wednesday while also being in the mix for a start this weekend in Texas.

Morris waited anxiously in the visiting bullpen behind the right field ivy-covered walls at Wrigley Field for the first two games of the Cubs series.

“I'm just trying to ease the nerves,” Morris told the Journal on Wednesday. “I think we build this thing up in our heads a lot, pitching at the highest level in the bigs for the first time after all the work you put in to get here. But it's the same game — 60 feet, six inches (from the mound to home plate). I’ve really been telling myself that even though I did everything I could to get here, and I earned it. I’m trusting that once I get on that mound, I can just show the team what I have. Not be too much, not be too little, just show them who Kade Morris is.”

Morris and the Las Vegas Aviators had just capped off a six-game road sweep of the Tacoma Rainiers before the Aviators manager Fran Riordan called a meeting in the middle of the clubhouse to announce the news, drawing cheers from teammates.

“Fran said, ‘You know, it's pretty special when you sweep, and it's also pretty special when you send somebody to The Show. Morris, you're going to The Show,’ the Turlocker shared. “It was amazing to hear and celebrate with my teammates.”

Morris is slated to become just the second Pride alumnus to appear in Major League Baseball, joining fellow right-hander Bradin Hagens, who appeared in two games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014.

The call to Morris came after a rough week for the A’s pitching staff, as top starters Luis Severino and Aaron Civale hit the injured list with shoulder problems and lefty Jacob Lopez was demoted after giving up seven runs in two innings in a 13-8 loss Sunday to the New York Yankees at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. Morris, meanwhile, had achieved a 5-3 record with a 4.45 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 60.2 innings over 11 starts in Triple-A.

“I kind of just stayed ready,” Morris said of his stint this year with Las Vegas. “I think getting sent down in spring, I came away with the mindset that I was already a big leaguer and I was just stuck in minor leagues. Keeping that mindset and having that approach every single day and just trusting the process. I didn't get caught up in the future stuff by asking ‘When's my time? When's my time?’ No. I just had to be ready, and I am ready for this.”

The first people he informed were his parents. Tim and Kim, and his wife, Mily.

“I called my dad right away, and my mom was in the background,” Morris recalled. “I got the phrase out, told them the news, and then I couldn’t hear a thing because everyone was screaming. It was pretty nuts. Then I called my wife (Mily), which was special. It's just great to have all their support.”

His parents couldn’t make it to Chicago in time for Tuesday’s series opener, but were able to hop on a 5 a.m. flight from Sacramento on Wednesday to watch his highly anticipated major league debut.

Playing in the bigs was a goal that the 23-year-old right has had for as long as he could remember.

“My parents have told me that even before I could walk or talk I was hitting a ball and throwing a ball,” Morris said. “This has been Plan A forever, so why not go out and grab it?”

The plan worked, just as he always knew it would.

His belief in making the dream a reality was so strong that while a third grader at Medeiros Elementary School in Turlock, he even presented his teacher, Aimee Peters-Hendrix, with a signed baseball when it was asked that students bring something to school that was meaningful or representative of them. “Mrs. Hendrix,” as Morris still referred to her pregame Wednesday, commented on social media congratulating her former student and confirming she still has the ball.

“Having that ball signed to her, I didn't think about it way back then,” Morris said. “Now for her to still have it to this day is pretty cool now that I’m here.”