9/28/10

Q&A - SP - Brandon Moore

Mack:  Morning folks. We're speaking with one of the heroes of the 2010 Savannah season, starting pitcher Brandon Moore. Hey Brandon, are you home or in extended? .


Moore:  I'm at fall instructional league


Mack: Brandon, you were a 14th round selection by the Mets in 2008, out on Indiana Wesleyan... take us back to draft day and tell us what that was like... .


Moore:  Well I was told I was going to get drafted by a few different team, buts just didn't know when, but I was at my grandmothers house putting in a air conditioner in her widow when I got the call.


Mack:  Brandon, 2008 looks like a year where the Mets were trying to figure out whether you were a starter or a reliveer. You combined for 5-1, 3.00, ifor Kingsport and Brooklyn, but you really excelled as a starter. Did you ind the day to day grind a lot different from school ball? .


Moore:   It was a lot different then college ball because it was baseball all day, every day, and not just a few games a week. But I have adjusted pretty well to the day to day baseball life style




Mack:  Brandon, 2009 was a magical year for you (6-3, 2.09) in Brooklyn, where you established yourself as a starter. Tell the readers out there what you are throwing and what it was like pitching that early in your career in New York City. .


Moore:   Yeah, it was a good yerr for me. I was throwing a fastball, curve ball , slider, and a change up.  It was an awesome experience to get to play there.  I had a blast playing in Brooklyn.


Mack:  You moved on to Savannah this past season (2.49), then St. Lucie (3.82), and finally one start at Binghamton. Very few accomplish this kind of growth in one year. Tell us about the adjustments you had to make to succeed at different levels. .


Moore:   I just knew I had to throw all my pitches or strikes and when I did that it made the games much easier, I would try and make small adjustments threw out a game to keep the batters off balance.


Mack:  Last question Brandon... You probably will start the 2011 season at the AA level, which puts you at a level many minor leaguers never get to. Everything really starts to get serious now. What's your plans in the off-season to get ready for the exposure? .


Moore:  Well, right now I'm in instructs and am working on my fastball and change up command. So if I improve on those areas I think I will be ready for the competition.


Mack:  Thank you Brandon... you're one of the good guys and we'll be following your progress... enjoy the off-season and keep those long tosses coming... .


Moore:  Ha ha. Alright,  will do...  thanks! Take care.

Old Moore stuff...

From local paper day after first day of draft: - After Day 1 of the Major League Baseball draft, (Brandon) Moore and Cameron Hobson still remain hopeful. Although the Crawfordsville graduates weren't drafted Thursday, they still have 44 more rounds to go. Moore just completed his senior year at Indiana Wesleyan University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school in Marion, Ind. He finished with a 9-3 record this year and led the Wildcats to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship game and runner-up finish. He ranked third in the NAIA in strikeouts per nine innings (12.21), sixth in opponents' batting average (.164) and eighth in ERA (1.64). He was also recently named a Second-Team All-American NAIA player and NCCAA Pitcher of the Year.


From: http://www.thepaper24-.com/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=23&ArticleID=16213  - From the article "This is huge," Indiana Wesleyan Coach Mark DeMichael said. "(Brandon Moore) has an unbelievable opportunity. Scouts liked his size, his height and the fact his build is going to get stronger . . . You put that along with the increased velocity on his fastball, it's increased by mile per hour or two every year since his freshman year, and you combine that with his body improvement, and he hasn't his reached peak. He also has a major league slider and throws in the low 90s. You throw a slider, you're a prospect."



In 2008, Moore pitched for both Kingsport (2-0, 0.90, 1.00, in six games, two starts, 22-K in 20.0-IP



He returned to Brooklyn for a complete season in 2009 and did good: 6-3, 2.09, 0.95, in 13 starts, 2-CG, 2-SH, 71-K, 17-BB, 82.0-IP.

Moore’s combined two-year stats are: 11-4, 2.31, 1.04.



1-1-2010 Forecast: No one expected this much from Moore, so this is all bonus time. Frankly, he’s had one of the better first two years any Mets SP has had in the past ten years. I expect him to bypass Savannah and go straight to Lucy in the spring.



4-14-10: - Moore pitched a “perfect” first outing, giving up nothing and ending with an organizational leading 0.00 WHIP. I asked him “you're the organizational leader in lowest WHIP (0.00)... after the first week... know it's early, and you're not going to deal up any secrets here, but what's working well for you right now?”Moore answered: “I’m just getting on the mound and pitching the way i always have. I have the mind set no one can beat me. My thing is I dont care who is at the plate. I know i can get them out.” Boy, we could use a little of this thinking in Queens right now.



5-30-10 from: - http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?cat=42  - Brandon Moore RHP - Brandon is the righthanded version of Mark, though he is much lighter in weight. Last year he was 6-3, 2.09, but missing out on making the All Star team. This year with Savannah he is 2-3, 1.92 with an impressive 6/67 walk to K ratio in 52 innings. He was drafted two rounds after Mark Cohoon.



6-27-10: - Moore had his first A+ outing and faired a lot better than his buddy Cohoon… 6.0-IP, 2-ER, 6-K, 3-BB, 3.00 ERA… and the win



7-10-10: - As we all know, Moore has had a wonderful career so far as a Mets. This year, he pitched excellently at Savannah (2.49, 0.9i in 14-G) and has been making the adjustment at the A+ level with St. Lucie. Friday night was a good outing: 6.0-IP, 1-ER, 4-Ks. He did give up four walks, but, for the season, he's 1-1, 2.65, .141 for Lucy. We're all still waiting for Moore to show some cracks... he's 15-9 as a Met... but so far, he easily has cracked the Mets top 25 prospect list.



7-14 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/14/1567569/mets-farm-system-mid-term-review  - After a flat-out dominant first half in Savannah and now a very strong start to his Hi-A career, Moore has yet to show a true weakness thus far in his short pro career. Moore only reinforced the fact that he can strike guys out as evidenced by his runaway victory as first-half SAL strikeout king; pair that with his ridiculous eleven walks for the full effect. And though as a college product, Moore has been facing younger competition, you can't really be upset with ERA's in the 2's at every stop so far (including Brooklyn in '09). I suppose in his three starts for St. Lucie he has shown a bit more wildness, but it's still early to call that a trend. As long as that issue doesn't flare up and he can keep his K/9 at or near nine, he'll go into the winter as a pitching prospect worth much more attention come 2011.


7-16-10: - Moore pitched five more excellent innings last night, giving up 0--ER, striking out eight, and walking only once. 12 of his outs were flyouts. Moore seems to have made the conversion to A+ with ease, with four game stats of: 2-1, 1.80, 1.20 in 25.0-IP. I think it is obvious that the Mets will keep moving him on (24-yrs old) and I expect him to be in the Binghamton rotation next spring.


8-1-10: -Moore seems to be the one Savannah graduate this season that is settling nicely into the A+ St. Lucie rotation. Last night, he went 5.1-IP against Lakeland, giving up only one earned run. Season stats at Lucy: 7-G, 2-3, 2.61, 1.35. We’ve learned in the past not to get too excited about pitchers below the AA level, but Moore is definitely on our watch list. One caveat… he is playing A+ at 24-years old, which might be one of the reasons he’s doing well at that level.



8-19-10: - First, let’s talk about Brandon Moore. This is a kid that has done very little wrong so far in his professional career. I tend not to judge minor league pitchers on their win-loss record, because, in many cases, their best outing was cut short due to pitch count. ERA is okay, but WHIP and K/IP are much better. Moore was a 14th rounder in 2008 and has been successful at four levels in three years. His combined WHIP in 2008/2009, for 27-G, 15-starts, for Kingsport and Brooklyn, was 1.04. He also had 104-K in 109.0-IP. He started this season (14-G, 12-St) for Savannah and posted a 0.92 WHIP and 98-K in 79-2-IP… currently, he’s pitching for St. Lucie and has put up a 1.43 WHIP, 49-K in 56.0-IP in 10 starts. Every pitcher goes through at least one level hiccup and if a 1.43 WHIP is his, all is fine with the world. Wednesday night, Moore got back on the horse, tossing 6.0-IP, 2-H, 1-ER, 9-K, and 3-BB. Okay, here’s the rub. There is considerable chatter on the net about his lack of speed. I’ve watched the kid pitch and read a numerous amount of people that have seen him pitch and I estimate his fastball is sitting around 88-8, with a top speed of 92. Is this good enough to make a major league rotation? That’s not the problem. The problem is a pitcher that only hits 92 are a dime a dozen, so you better have serios control on that pitch, coupled by nasty secondary stuff. We’ll keep an eye on his A+ WHIP as the season comes to an end.


8-28-10: - Stock Up: Brandon Moore seems to be getting the knack of pitching at the A+ level. Too bad the season’s end is just around the corner. Moore pitched 6.0-IP last night, compiling only 1-ER, while striking out 10. His Lucy ERA is now 3.82, which when added to his 2.49 in Savannah earlier this year, totals out for a nice 3.08 in 26 games, 24 of which he started. I’ll stay concervative here and say that he will return to St. Lucie to start the 2011 season, but… ya never know

9-27-10: - 2011 forecast:  -  Moore, like many before him has reached the point of no return, AA ball. This is where a player, especiallyan SP, gets to show his team if he can stand up against a squad totally consisting of players that have aced the lower levels.  Here is where the real ballplayers of the future lie and here is where Moore will make it or break it in 2011.  Nothing against him, but remember how excited we were when so many before him got to this level. Good luck Brandon.

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