As Opening Day approaches, the battles for spots on the 25-man roster are heating up. And one player may have an upper hand in acquiring one of those spots.
It’s no secret that Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Max Moroff isn’t the biggest or most powerful guy.
Standing at 5-10 and weighing 185 pounds, Moroff doesn’t look like much of a threat on the baseball diamond. But he plays a lot bigger than he looks.
A former 16th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Moroff enters the 2018 season with hopes of making the MLB roster out of spring training.
Guys like Jose Osuna and recently acquired Bryce Brentz are trying to do the same. Osuna has had a stellar spring, hitting .324 (11 for 34) with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 17 games. His numbers are very similar to the monster spring he had last year, which caught the attention of many inside and out of the clubhouse. However, that spring output didn’t translate into much last season as he only hit .233 in 104 games.
Brentz hasn’t had the same success. After hitting 31 home runs last season in Pawtucket, the AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, Brentz has struggled mightily this spring. The 29-year old is hitting .216 (8 for 37) with one home run in 16 games.
Based on Osuna’s ability to play the infield and outfield along with his decent spring, he may have an upper hand on Brentz for a spot on the 25-man roster. But I’m not sure Osuna has an edge on Moroff.
Sure, Moroff’s spring numbers aren’t as impressive as Osuna’s. He is only hitting .231 (6 for 26) in 16 games, but he does have the advantage over Osuna in other areas.
Position flexibility
While Osuna is capable of playing both in the infield and outfield, he doesn’t have the versatility to play as many positions as Moroff, who in my opinion is the third most versatile player on the team behind Adam Frazier and Sean Rodriguez.
Osuna has struggled in the past in the outfield and has really just recently learned the ropes at third base, one of the positions Moroff could excel at as a backup.
Last season, Moroff appeared defensively in 50 games – 28 at second base, 16 at shortstop and six at third base. He didn’t commit a single error and finished with 49 putouts along with 95 assists.
When looking at more advanced defensive statistics, Moroff also finished with four defensive runs saved in 156 innings at second base last season.
The 24-year old proved to be a reliable defensive player at those infield positions, which is needed just as much as reliable defensive outfielders.
Rodriguez is expected to be the primary backup in center field in front of Adam Frazier, who will also serve as a backup in the Pirates infield.
Both of those guys give the team some nice outfield bench options. Moroff would join David Freese as a quality infield bench option while giving the Pirates the luxury of putting him anywhere around the infield.
Moroff in MLB may help younger Pittsburgh Pirates prospects
With Max Moroff on the Pirates major league roster, it may help the development of one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ younger prospects. If Moroff were to be sent down to AAA Indianapolis, it could block infield prospect Kevin Kramer, who played 53 games in AA Altoona last season.
Kramer excelled as a non-roster invite to spring training, hitting .353 in 13 games. Kramer, a second baseman/shortstop, could find himself in Indianapolis this season, but those chances would surely go down if Moroff was taking up a roster spot there.
A career .284 hitter, Kramer is a reliable offensive option that the Pirates like. He also has the flexibility to play both middle infield positions and could be a solid part of the team’s future.
He is ranked as the 11th best prospect in the Pirates organization by MLBPipeline.com and his impact could be felt sooner rather than later if he gets a shot in AAA this season.
Better hitter than many may think
Moroff’s .200 average in 56 games last season doesn’t exactly jump out and impress anyone. But he did improve as the season went on, despite receiving limited playing time.
He hit way under .200 in May, June and July, but bounced back a bit in September, hitting .255 (12 for 47) with one home run and eight RBIs. This indicates that Moroff learned as the season went on an
Moroff isn’t a better offensive option than Osuna and Brentz by any means. But his defensive flexibility and defensive ability in general trumps both outfielders.
Moroff, who certainly is a capable hitter and will likely improve more in time, is a much better fit to earn a spot on the Pirates 25-man roster. That isn’t saying that Osuna and Brentz aren’t, but right now, Moroff seems like a better fit as an infield bench option.
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