(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
After coming over from the Toronto Blue Jays in an offseason trade, Gabriel Moreno has taken over as the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ starting catcher.
He is full of offensive potential, but still hasn’t been able to live up to it.
As of Tuesday afternoon, he is hitting .207/.200/.310 with no homers in 30 plate appearances.
The expectation is that he improves with time.
The reason why the Diamondbacks will likely give him all the time he needs to get going at the plate is because of his game-changing arm.
The D-Backs, in Moreno, have a star behind the plate.
Look at these numbers:
The new @Dbacks backstop has shown elite metrics in the early going of the season #MLBNow | #ArizonaBorn pic.twitter.com/o2kBX1bSCf
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) April 11, 2023
The pop time is really elite: it takes him less than two seconds to receive the ball, make the exchange, and execute a throw to second base.
The exchange is the fifth-quickest in the league (keep in mind there are 30 starting catchers in the league plus their backups) and his arm strength is tenth in baseball.
He has, so far, two Defensive Runs Saved, or DRS.
The most impressive stat might be the three caught steals he has in three tries.
He hasn’t allowed a stolen base this year, and runners respect him so much that they have only tried to swipe a bag off him three times.
Three times!
Once Moreno masters the art of framing and starts hitting, he has the potential to be a top-five catcher in MLB.
Both tasks seem plausible: it wasn’t a coincidence that he was a top-20 prospect in baseball just a year ago.
The D-Backs have a difference-maker in Moreno, and will enjoy him for a long time.
The post The Diamondbacks Suddenly Have A Star Behind The Plate appeared first on The Cold Wire.