Toronto Blue Jays top ten prospects for 2020
By David Hill
8. Gabriel Moreno
Minors (A): 341 plate appearances, .280/.337/.485, 17 doubles, 12 homers, seven steals, 22 walks, 38 strikeouts
In his first taste of full season ball, Gabriel Moreno broke through as a legitimate prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Moreno initially opened eyes in rookie ball last season, producing a .359/.395/.575 batting line in his 40 games, showing decent pop and respectable speed for a catcher. He continued that impressive showing in 2019, with his performance in the South Atlantic League possibly making him the Blue Jays top catching prospect.
He has displayed a propensity not only for making contact, but for making hard contact at that. Moreno has excellent hand-eye coordination and a feel for putting the barrel on the ball, resulting in a line drive approach that may make him more of a doubles and batting average player instead of a power hitter. Defensively, Moreno has a strong arm with a quick release, but still needs work on his ability to block pitches in the dirt.
The Blue Jays, in theory, have their catcher of the foreseeable future in Danny Jansen. They also have another solid catching prospect in Alejandro Kirk that could be a part of the plans moving forward. Yet, Moreno could prove to be the Blue Jays backstop of the future, or a very interesting option as trade bait.
Gabriel Moreno broke through in a major way in 2019. Given his contact oriented approach, and excellent bat to ball skills, he should continue to hit his way up the ladder.