His future might be as a left-handed bench bat who can fill in at three positions.

His future might be as a left-handed bench bat who can fill in at three positions.

Kevin Goldstein on Mitch Moreland.

21 days ago Adam J. Morris 39 comments 0 recs |

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Thats not a bad player to have

Not a world beater, but a nice solid player to have around.

What do voluntary mean?

by JKolar on Oct 30, 2009 12:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

17th round draft choice

at this point, that is a win. the ’07 draft was pretty incredible

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

1B, RF and P?

Seriously, I doubt he makes it with the Rangers unless they give up on Davis.

|Space for Rent|

by RangerMad on Oct 30, 2009 12:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

that Moreland is a bench player, and therefore Davis wouldn’t impact him much. Either Davis will make it as a starter, or not at all i would think. He doesn’t strike me as versatile, and if he can’t hit, there isnt much place for him on the 25.

"I don't condone steroids or any other type of growth hormones or anything else, but I could care less, and, for the most part, I don't think the fans give a (bleep). The people that care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball," - Jim Leyland

by DJCahill on Oct 30, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

and Davis better start hitting for power again. Nobody wants a James Loney that can’t even hit .300.

The 2009 Texas Rangers offense: sigh...

by Kinslerhomer on Oct 30, 2009 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kind of a moot point due to Smoak

I don’t think the Rangers want a LH hitting back up 1B behind Davis.

|Space for Rent|

by RangerMad on Oct 30, 2009 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

even with his plus D?

thats hard to swallow so I hope he figures it out

The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ

by NYTXFAN on Oct 30, 2009 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There's not much place on a 25 man roster...

…for a good defensive 1B that can’t hit.

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Davis is kinda versatile

Filled in at 3rd a bit.

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

by WyoRanger on Oct 30, 2009 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Although, so did Laird

by WyoRanger on Oct 30, 2009 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

a little different circumstance

it’s about Davis’ bat, not his D, which is ironic because initially we thought it was about his D and his bat was good

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No

1B, RF and DH.

The 2009 Texas Rangers offense: sigh...

by Kinslerhomer on Oct 30, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

But seriously? :)

|Space for Rent|

by RangerMad on Oct 30, 2009 12:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

wouldn't be more likely

1b, LF, RF? As DH isn’t really a position your keeping a bench bat for?

What do voluntary mean?

by JKolar on Oct 30, 2009 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Worth noting

Moreland’s career as an outfielder has always been dependent on his teammates. He played OF in Clinton when Gac was around, moved to 1st when Gac was promoted, and moved back to OF after Smoak signed. In ‘09, he was in the OF mostly because he’s better out there than Chad Tracy. Best to think of him as a 1B who can play OF rather than the reverse.

"It's not a good strategy, but it's my strategy." -- Courtney Lucas

by Lucas on Oct 30, 2009 12:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

bench bat?

Fuck that. 50 bombs in 2011. By July.

by SaltyGoesYard on Oct 30, 2009 2:17 PM CDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

There we go with the labels again.

by jam0152 on Oct 30, 2009 2:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

ha, true

id be ok with him as a bench bat, but i wouldnt say thats his ceiling by any means

Feliz says his greatest thrill was striking out Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz, one of his heroes. Yet, when he called to tell his parents, his mother had a request: Strike out New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, too.
"So when I did that," Feliz says, "I told my mom, 'There you go. There's your present. Don't ask me to strike anyone else out, OK?'

by blalock84 on Oct 30, 2009 4:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's the next Carlos Quentin

without the injuries.

That's why they call them business sox

by egriffey on Oct 30, 2009 3:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Mitch Moreland turned 24 in September

In 2006, Carlos Quentin turned 24 in August. He had a .253/.342/.530 line in 50+ major league games, and a .289/.424/.487 line in AAA.

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

24 vs 25

i think the comparison can still apply

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Brad Hawpe, Lyle Overbay

I bet Moreland is a solid big league regular. Maybe not a star but there’s a lot of value in that.

by JPenn on Oct 30, 2009 4:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

i agree

I think he gets the “bench bat” routine because he didn’t start as a high draft pick. He has outperformed everybody in our system this past year (and this isn’t an aberration based on his numbers last year and everywhere he’s been) . I know people want to temper their high expectations, but based on performance etc Moreland is a more significant prospect than Beltre. People just love the toolsy players. I, personally, like players that can play baseball. Moreland seems to be one of those guys.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 4:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

x

I think he gets the "bench bat" routine because he didn’t start as a high draft pick.

Derek Holland and Ian Kinsler were both taken in the later rounds, and were both well regarded Ranger prospects.

I think he gets the bench bat label because he doesn’t have any defensive value, and he’s 24 and hasn’t hit all that great above A-ball.

And he certainly didn’t outperform everybody in the system this past year.

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Uh

How is .326/.373/.488 in Frisco this year “not all that great”?

"...he wasn’t a good hitter, just a good middle of the order bat that hit a lot of homers." - NYTXFAN

by lonestarJon on Oct 30, 2009 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Its not all that great

Not in AA for a future DH/1B.

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 4:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

what does he have to do?

hit .400? He’s done the same thing in the AFL as well. He’s hit everywhere.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 4:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hitting .326/.373/.488...

…as a 1B/DH in AA as a 23 year old isn’t going get people that excited.

He’s put himself on the prospect map, and he’s a decent enough prospect. But it isn’t the sort of line that folks are going to get worked up about, and that has more to do with him not getting the attention others get than the fact he wasn’t a high draft pick.

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 5:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

only one player in Texas League was better

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"Gas, Grass, or Ass. Nobody rides for free"

by tricer on Oct 30, 2009 5:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better at what?

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 5:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

didn't he get the most hits in the minors

or at the time before his foot injury he had more hits than any other minor leaguer. that seems pretty good. the guy has good bat control evidence by his low SO totals. I can understand defensively he may be a notch below others, but there are alot of OF/1B types that are below avg defensively that get playing time everyday.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 5:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

What sort of slash line...

…do you think he can put up from, say, 2012-14 (his age 26-28 seasons)?

by Adam J. Morris on Oct 30, 2009 5:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'm not a fortune teller

and projections don’t mean much

but he has the tools to easily have an 820+ ops. With his BA and OBP. He could hit 300/ 360 / 470. Of course, he could put up a 250/320/400 line. Some people,no matter how high the prospect, just can’t hit Major League pitching. Next year, Moreland will be in AAA most likely, and maybe he’ll get a call later in the year, and we’ll get a concrete idea of how he handles ML pitching.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Oct 30, 2009 5:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Moreland has been a Top 10 hitter

in every league he has played in the past two years.

There are exceptions, but the two types of minor league players who are most likely to become quality major leaguers are:
(1) those who are league average or better while being at least two years younger than the average age of the players in the league in which they are competing and
(2) those who are ranked among the league leaders at each minor league level in which they compete.

In my opinion, Moreland’s 2008 breakout was validated by his 2009 performance and justifies a Top 10 ranking in the Rangers’ system. I think that Moreland is as good a bet as Max Ramirez to be a productive major league hitter. Like MaxRam, it is unclear with his offense/defense will allow him to become a major league starter.

by spurdynasty on Oct 31, 2009 6:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs