Rays Call Up Top Prospect Matt Moore
By Editorial Staff
The Tampa Bay Rays have called up top prospect Matt Moore. Though a starting pitcher in the Minors, the Rays are hoping Moore can help bolster the club’s bullpen down the stretch.
Tampa Bay decided to make the move after losing closer Kyle Farnsworth this weekend to elbow tenderness. It’s not yet determined how long Farnsworth will be out, but his absence leaves a large hole in the Rays pen.
Enter Moore and his high 90’s heater.
The 22 year old entered the season ranked as the league’s 15th top prospect by Baseball America. With call ups and his own strong performance, Moore was considered by many to be one of the top 5 players in the Minors before getting the call Sunday.
Moore has been absolutely lights-out in 2011. Spending the year with the Rays Double and Triple-A squads, the left-hander has maintained an ERA of 1.92 over his 27 starts. Moore has struck out 210 batters over his 155 innings of work, good for a K/9 ratio north of 12.
Moore didn’t sacrifice control to obtain such lofty strike out rates, walking only 2.7 batters per 9 on the year. This low walk ratio helped Moore to end his Minor League season with an impressive 0.948 WHIP.
While the Rays are hoping Moore will be a fixture in their rotation for years to come, they are initially bringing him up as a reliever. Tampa Bay used a similar tactic in 2008 and last season, calling up top prospects David Price and Jeremy Hellickson to work in relief.
Price was able to handle the transition to the pen, providing the Rays with 5.2 solid innings in the 2008 ALCS and World Series.
Hellickson didn’t take as well to the pen, allowing 8 earned runs over his 9 innings pitched in relief last year.
It will be interesting to see how Moore handles the new role. With their sweep of the Red Sox this weekend, the Rays find themselves only 3.5 games back in the AL Wild Card Race.
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