Despite a .103 batting average, Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Max Moroff continues to receive playing time at the major-league level. Why does manager Clint Hurdle keep penciling the underperformer into the lineup?
Monday marked the first time in three days that Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Max Moroff did not start a game.
Since being recalled on June 2, Moroff has become a semi-regular in the Pirates lineup. Moroff has played in 14 of 27 games and started in three of six games in the Pirates last homestand. That includes getting back-to-back starts in the final two games of the series with the San Francisco Giants.
Moroff went 1-12 at the plate in those three starts and has four hits in 45 plate appearances this season. The 24-year-old has a -0.4 WAR and -4 wRC+. Moroff’s .154 BABIP and .200 OBP are also less than stellar.
Stellar in the minors
Moroff is in the majors because of his recent minor-league. He hit .293 for Double-A Altoona in 2015 en route to winning Pittsburgh’s Minor League Player of the Year award. This season, Moroff has hit 13 HR in 160 at bats for Triple-A Indianapolis, which is tied for eighth best in the International League.
Prospect Peek: Max Moroff, tied for the International League lead with 12 homers, nearly had a 13th Friday but settled for a two-run double pic.twitter.com/JBC2jC16TO
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 20, 2017
As a former 16th round draft pick only four years ago, it’s remarkable how fast Moroff has climbed to the majors. Whether he will ever be a difference-maker in the majors is yet to be determined, but his career is off to a slow start.
Why Moroff is in the majors is certainly questionable, but even more alarming is why he’s gotten more starts recently. When analyzed, it comes down to three primary reasons.
Switch-hitting
As bad as he’s been hitting, perhaps you have not noticed that Max Moroff bats from both sides of the plate. That is rare for this Pirates team. The only regular starter that switch hits is first baseman Josh Bell. Otherwise, Moroff is the only other switch-hitter on the active roster and 40-man roster.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]As a former 16th round draft pick only four years ago, it’s remarkable how fast Moroff has climbed to the majors. Whether he will ever be a difference-maker in the majors is yet to be determined, but his career is off to a slow start.[/perfectpullquote]Being a switch-hitter is invaluable for countless situations. If Moroff can become an adequate major-league, he won’t need to be pinch hit for after an opponent’s pitching change. Moroff can even force those pitching changes depending on his spot in the lineup and if he is hitting well.
If the Pirates need a pinch hitter, Moroff could become one of Hurdle’s top options. Whether an opponent brings in a right hander or left hander, Moroff would fill the role of a batter on the opposite side of the plate of the pitcher.
Defense
Perhaps Moroff’s most usable talent is his defensive flexibility. The infielder has played second base, third base and shortstop this season. His ability to jump from position to position is huge for manager Clint Hurdle. With Moroff, Hurdle can give one of his regulars a day off and insert a capable defender in the lineup.
Moroff advanced metrics defensively rank him as an average defender, but he has played far too little for them to be taken too seriously. So far, he has yet to make an error in 15 games in the field. Moroff has quietly made some solid plays that seem to go unnoticed.
https://twitter.com/loggedron/status/875398497138233344
He has looked comfortable in the field and even made a slick play as a shortstop on Saturday that Derek Jeter would be proud of. With one out in the seventh and Brandon Belt taking off from first base, Brandon Crawford flew out to center. Belt slid into second without looking where the ball was going because Moroff faked receiving a throw from catcher Elias Diaz. Once Belt realized his mistake, he darted back to first. Video review revealed that Belt had moved towards third base and failed to touch second and was therefore out. A smooth play by Moroff helped keep the game tied.
As Moroff continues to make plays like this, he will continue to earn playing time. The Pirates succeeded from 2013-15 because of defense would keep Moroff as a defensive replacement if keeps playing this well defensively. Clint Barmes stayed with the Pirates for three seasons because he saved 26 runs on defense. His defense out-weighed him never hitting over .245 with Pittsburgh. If Barmes could last that long, so can Moroff.
David Freese
Since returning from the disabled list on May 12 from a hamstring injury, third baseman David Freese is hitting .221. Prior to the D.L stint, Freese’s .321 average through 18 games led the Pirates.
As seen last season, Freese is no longer an everyday major-league starter. Freese started 2016 strong, hitting .286 with a .365 OBP in the season’s first 99 games. However, in his final 42 games, Freese hit .226 with a .315 OBP.
After Moroff took Freese’s place at third base on Sunday afternoon, Freese returned to the lineup on Monday in Philadelphia. Freese went 1-4 in the 4-0 Pirates loss. His seventh-inning leadoff single was his second hit since June 23. Freese is now 2-for-his-last-21 at the plate, good for a 0.10 average.
Yes, Moroff isn’t much better than Freese (one hit in his last 17 at-bats), but something needed to change. Enter Moroff.
Should Moroff be in the majors?
The argument can be made that Gift Ngoepe would be more useful than Moroff at the big-league level. It’s a fair debate to hold. Ngoepe does have a better average than Moroff (.222 in 54 at-bats) and he gets on base more often (.323 OBP).
Additionally, Ngoepe played all three positions at the major-league level that Moroff has played. Seemingly, Ngoepe is better than Moroff simply because he is a marginally better hitter.
However, Ngoepe went through a similar slump as Moroff at the majors, collecting three hits in 14 at bats from May 18-31. After the poor stretch, Ngoepe was demoted to Indianapolis at the start of June, where he has hit .193 since. Ngoepe is currently on the disabled list after suffering a hamstring injury on June 19.
The African infielder is a career .231 hitter in the minors at six different levels. Ngoepe has been in the Pirates minor league system since 2009 and did not make his major-league debut until this season. Moroff made his major-league debut last season, his fifth professional season, at the age of 24. Ngoepe debuted at 27 in his ninth professional season.
Additionally, defensively, Ngoepe rates poorly defensively. His UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games) is projected as -21.2 at third base, -32.6 at shortstop and 12.4 at second base. Versatility is only impressive if you can defend most of the positions at least an average level.
As great of a story as Ngoepe is, he is not a stud baseball player and never has been in his professional career. Moroff has past success in the minors and has more potential.
It’s clear that Hurdle and the Pittsburgh Pirates want Max Moroff to succeed because of his multiple valuable attributes. Moroff’s ceiling is a bench player that can start two or three times a week. As long as Moroff performs defensively, he’ll have an argument to stay in the majors. Unless he starts hitting, though, Moroff will find himself back in Indianapolis.
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