Fantasy Baseball Player Profiles 2013: Matt Moore

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison.

Is it me, or is there less buzz about Matt Moore this season than there was last year?

It’s a crazy thought if true, but fantasy owners seemed so disappointed in his slow start in 2012 that they have forgotten how well he was during the second half of the season.

Moore is a 23-year-old lefty considered the best pitching prospect in baseball a couple years ago and nothing he has done in the last two seasons should have changed anyone’s mind.

Lets look at his brief big-league history.

Pros

After the All-Star-Game last year, Moore had a 3.01 ERA in 14 starts with more than a strikeout an inning. Even if you include his slow start, Moore had 11 wins and a 3.81 ERA in his first full season in the majors at age 22, striking out 175 in just over 177 innings.

Moore will get better in his second season and it could be considerably better because the 3.81 ERA was his worst in six pro seasons. In full minor league seasons, he had ERA’s of 1.66, 3.15, 3.36, and 1.92. He had 50 more strikeouts than innings pitched in three of his seasons in the minors.

Moore has been pretty consistent between home and road with a 3.55 ERA at home and 4.14 on the road. You would expect a young pitcher in a dome to have more dramatic difference in those splits.

Cons

Every fantasy owner seemed to target Moore last year and he started out with a 4.68 ERA in April and 4.83 in May and suddenly fantasy players were wondering if he could pitch in the bigs. Those who remained patient were rewarded the rest of the season until he had a rough September.

His early struggles were often a result of giving up homers as he gave up 18 on the year. But again, 13 of those came before the All-Star break.

Taking a pitcher in the American League East has always been a concern, but while Toronto should be improved, Boston and New York aren’t what they used to be on offense and Baltimore will not likely repeat last year’s numbers.

Wins may be the biggest concern for Moore, who had just 11 in a pretty good season. His overall stats could have easily resulted in 16 wins and that leads to concerns that Tampa Bay could have a tough time getting Moore to that number even if he shows improvement this year.

Overall

I see Matt Moore as one of the top pitching options in the American League and one of the safest bets you can take at pitcher.

It is hard to imagine him having an ERA over 3.75, less than 200 strikeouts, or fewer than 14 wins and the upside is great. This is a guy who could post a 3.10 ERA with 220 strikeouts and 18 wins.

If the buzz has worn off Moore in your league, grab him and enjoy.