Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Welcome to the Blue, Ryan Moseley!


Better late than never, I suppose.  As you know, the Dodgers traded relief pitcher Vidal Nuño to the Orioles last week in order to make room for recent free agent signee Franklin Gutierrez on the 40-man roster.  In return for Nuño the Dodgers received a 22-year old right-handed pitching prospect named Ryan Moseley.  He had originally been drafted by Baltimore in 2016 out of Texas Tech University in the 8th round.  You can follow Ryan on twitter here: @Ryan2Moseley.  Per John Sickels at Minor League Ball:
The native of Lubbock, Texas, had an erratic spring for the Red Raiders (Texas Tech), posting a 4.98 ERA in 56 innings, undone with command problems that resulted in a poor 32/37 K/BB ratio. He was more effective in pro ball, posting a 3.20 ERA in 20 innings for the Aberdeen Ironbirds in the New York-Penn League with a 18/9 K/BB, while saving four games in five attempts.

Moseley is a 6-3, 190 pounder, age 22. He works with a low-90s sinker (resulting in a 1.92 GO/AO in his debut) along with a slider and change-up. His secondary pitches looked better in the NY-P than they did in college, helping to result in a higher strikeout rate, but even with Aberdeen his walk rate was higher than ideal. He is best-suited for relief at higher levels, with development of his command determining his ultimate fate.
Per a MLB.com video report from last years draft:
"Moseley moved into the Texas Tech rotation late in his freshman year and didn't allow an earned run in four NCAA playoff starts as the Red Raiders advanced to the College World Series. His solid sophomore season and spectacular fall had scouts thinking he'd emerge as a first-round pick this June, but he lasted just three starts this spring before getting pulled from the rotation. There's no doubt that Moseley has enough pitches to start. His primary weapon is a 91-95 mph fastball with power sink. Both of his low-80s secondary pitches can be at least above-average offerings at their best, with his lively change-up more consistent than his slider. The problem is that Moseley's control and command aren't sharp, which gets him in trouble because he's more hittable than he should be and runs up his pitch counts too quickly. His stuff is more electric in shorter stints, so he could become a high-leverage reliever in the big leagues, but pro clubs aren't ready to give up on him as a starter."
BTW, this trade is a big win for the Dodgers.  They essentially traded Carlos Ruiz (who they got from Philadelphia for AJ Ellis and a couple over-aged prospects) and his $4.5 million option to Seattle for Nuño over the winter.  Then, they shipped Nuño to the Orioles for Moseley.  In other words, they traded AJ Ellis for an 2016 8th round pick.  That's not too shabby.

In celebration of Moseley's becoming a Dodger I made the above fantasy Baseball card of him.  I used the 1964 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are his career minor league statistics, via Baseball-Reference:


* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

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