The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team that must live and die by its prospects. In a new series, PBD will project each of the team’s Top 20 prospects in 2017.
Welcome to a new recurring series here at Pirates Breakdown in which we count down and project the 2017 seasons for each of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Top 20 prospects, ranked as per MLB Pipeline.
Today we start our series with a look at the Pirates #20 prospect Max Moroff.
Moroff has been fun to watch as he has soared thru the Pirates minor league system the last couple of years. He is now firmly planted in Indianapolis and received substantial playing time last season.
Strengths
One part of Moroff’s game that all Pirates fans will enjoy is his plate discipline. Moroff displays an excellent ability to read balls and strikes out of the pitchers hand. Last season in Indianapolis, Moroff compiled 90 walks in 520 registered plate appearances. That comes in at a 17.3 percent walk ratio for the young second baseman.
What really jumps off the stat sheet is his OBP last season. He finished the year with a .367 OBP, which is considered “great” by sources such as Fangraphs. It is important to have hitters in your lineup that can work counts, which it appears that Moroff can do. Another strength worth mentioning for Moroff is his durability. Moroff has done a nice job over the last 4 seasons of staying relatively healthy and on the field. This is definitely an added plus when talking about becoming an everyday major league 2nd baseman.
Areas of Improvement
One thing that the Pittsburgh Pirates will have to keep an eye on is how Moroff progresses against better competition. In his first year with Indianapolis his average did slip from .293 at Altoona to .230 with the Tribe. Film shows that there may be some holes in Moroff’s swing.
It appears that pitchers are starting to pitch towards his weaknesses, which could be tracking the off speed pitch. Luckily for Moroff, he has seen this before. After having an underwhelming season in 2014 with Bradenton batting .244, he recovered in Altoona the following season posting the .293 batting average noted above. If Moroff puts the necessary time in the cage and in the film room, his work ethic could shine thru once again.
Where Will He Start 2017?
If you look at Moroff’s progression throughout the last four seasons, one could concur he may see time in Pittsburgh this year. He does have one major problem standing in front of him, Josh Harrison. Harrison is signed to a pretty large contract and the Pittsburgh Pirates front office will be expecting a bounce back season from Harrison.
That creates a log jam for Moroff, which makes him more likely to spend the majority of next season with AAA Indianapolis.
Where Will He Finish 2017?
However, if Moroff can prove to the coaching staff that he is complete hitter at the AAA level early in the season that could potentially open doors for him down the road. The position that Moroff plays often has injuries (2nd), so that could also open a door for him with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
There is opportunity available in that situation as Sean Rodriguez signed an offseason deal with the Braves. With all of that said, it is likely that Moroff could see time in Pittsburgh once the rosters expand in September or if Josh Harrison sees any time on the DL this year.
[catposts]Image Credit – Bryan Green – Flickr Creative Commons
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