Moskos vs. Mississippi State: Does. Not. Compute.

by Charlie on Jun 8, 2007 2:58 PM EDT in News Comment 8 comments

For whatever it's worth, I watched Daniel Moskos pitch for three innings today against Mississippi State. He wasn't great. It's been reported that he throws hard, but he doesn't. Today his fastball was mostly 87-89 MPH; he dialed it up to 91 a few times. His change is okay. His breaking ball clocks in at 75-79 and doesn't break a ton. He had a hard time getting his breaking ball over the plate, too. Maybe he used to throw harder, but I don't see how he profiles as a major-league closer. But that's how the Bucs hope to use him:

Moskos, however, likely will not be a starter once he signs with the Pirates, according to Ed Creech, the team's senior director of scouting.

"We like him in both roles," Creech said. "[But] I think the role he's probably going to end up [in] is closer. He has the mentality for it. He's an aggressive kid. He goes after hitters. He throws strikes. He has power pitches."

"I'm open to however the organization wants to use me," Moskos said. "I'm excited about the chance. If [a closer] is how I'm needed, I'm completely fine with it."

Moskos, 6 feet 1, 200 pounds, throws a good moving fastball that tops at 95 mph and might consistently clock at 95 in a couple of years. He has a "wipeout" slider, according to one evaluator, that he throws at 85-87 mph.

I don't doubt the Post-Gazette's reporting, but that's just not anything like the pitcher I saw today. Again, maybe he threw harder earlier in the season, particularly since he started the season in the pen. But today, he wasn't a "power" pitcher, he didn't get within sniffing distance of 95, and not only did he not have a "wipeout", 85-MPH slider, his breaking ball wasn't even really a slider - it broke in more of an over-the-top sort of way, like a curveball. If he did throw a slider at any point in the first three innings, it was hard to identify it as such. I don't know - maybe he didn't throw it for some reason. But I didn't see anything here worth being too impressed with.

Seriously, I don't know what's going on here, and I don't know what's sadder - that a team in its 15th straight losing season drafted a frigging reliever in the first round, or that their reasons for doing so were apparently so wrong.

Some other notes on the draft:

-P- WTM thinks Dave Littlefield may be thinking very short-term with this pick, which isn't especially surprising.

-P- WTM also is working on writeups of the other players the Pirates drafted so far. The pitcher we got in the second round, Duke Welker, also looks like a low-upside pick.

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2008 First Year Player Draft

I'm thinking that if this ownership group is still in charge next season I will declare myself eligible for the draft. I'm VERY signable.

by bryanzane on Jun 8, 2007 5:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

WTM's write-up on Moskos and the Pick

"For all kinds of reasons, this was a baffling and frustrating selection."

You've written exactly what I've been trying to say. Thank you.

by bryanzane on Jun 8, 2007 5:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm far from wild about Moskos, but

Baseball America ranked him 8th, and says that he "joins Ross Detwiler and David Price as the cream of an especially strong crop of lefthanders in this year's draft." Moskos wasn't a reach or a clearly bad choice, but there certainly were signable people who seemed to fit the Pirates needs more.

The oddest thing about Welker (who does seem an overdraft by a round) is that the Pirates were able to draft pitchers from Nebraska in the 6th and 9th rounds who have pretty comparable credentials. Both seem to be real prospects.

Viva Clemente!

by Roberto on Jun 8, 2007 6:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What's the criteria, and other questions

Yes, BA had him 8th, but that may (or may not) be the highest anyone had him. Sickels had him as the 9th best pitcher. And what was the gap between #4, #8 and any other position in the draft?

What I mean is, there may have been 5 blue chip prospects, then a steep dropoff to #6, and 6-15 might be all bunched together. So being the 8th ranked prospect might still mean he was closer to the 15th best prospect than the 4th best.

Finally, maybe he was 8th best. But in the NFL, a great kicker might be highly ranked, but he shouldn't be taken highly because he's a kicker. Moskos will be a reliever, I'm fairly certain. All but elite relievers are somewhat dime-a-dozenish. Being that highly ranked doesn't mean anyone should have taken him that highly, let alone a team like the Pirates who should not value his skill set that highly.

by azibuck on Jun 8, 2007 7:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

College lefty

BA is prone to overrate college pitchers, especially lefties. They still buy into the foolish view--which Kevin Goldstein demolished--that college pitchers are "safe." Of course, this probably represents a widespread scouting bias, since BA is essentially a scouting industry mouthpiece, but the Pirates' experience should have taught them better.

by WTM on Jun 8, 2007 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

And thanks for your writeups, I enjoy and appreciate them.

by azibuck on Jun 8, 2007 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're welcome . . .

. . . to do a few if you feel like. (-: It's really, really hard this year.

by WTM on Jun 8, 2007 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I`m disappointed as so many others are here

with the Moskos pick, but I think we should also make it known that he will be supported with the hope that he will be able to contribute ASAP at the major league level.

Everyone here has a right to bash the Pirates` organization from the top down for being responsible for 15 years of futility, but as soon as Moskos signs we should start pulling for the guy.

I don`t know what else to do. If I had a ton of money, I`d buy the team and fire all the imbeciles in the organization-which would require a darn near clean sweep of personnel. As additional punishment for the mental anguish all Pirates` fans have had to endure for a decade and a half now, I would send the Nuttings, McClatchy, DL and some others out to a day of practice with the Steelers as blocking dummys and to do some grass drills.

Well, my fantasies aside, good luck Daniel Moskos with the rest of your Clemson season and with your career in a Pirates uniform.

by patthatt on Jun 8, 2007 7:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs