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August 2016: Moreno was a bargain international sign, for just $25,000 via scout Francisco Plasencia.
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2019-20 Seasons: Moreno batted .280/.337/.485 with 12 homers at Class A Lansing during his 2019 full-season debut. In 2020, he continued to make improvements on both sides of the ball past this summer as a standout at Toronto’s alternate training site. He was added to the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster after the season and has a big up arrow next to his going into 2021.
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In 2019, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Gabriel as the 20th-best prospect in the Blue Jays' organization. He was #7 in 2020. He was at #8 in the spring of 2021. Then, in the spring of 2022, Moreno was named the Jays #1 prospect.
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Signed out of Venezuela at age 16, Gabriel was a shortstop. A Blue Jays scout at one of his workouts asked if he’d like to stand behind home plate and make a few throws to second, so he gave it a try. Before that day, Moreno had never even worn catcher’s gear. That’s one layer of what makes him so unique, though, and that’s what gives him the athleticism to project as an everyday catcher.
“He’s relatively new to the position, but his athleticism allows him to be really quick with his blocking, to make accurate and strong throws to the bases,” Gil Kim, the Blue Jays’ director of player development, said. “Receiving and game-planning are the two areas he’s working diligently on.”
The Blue Jays also feel that Moreno is growing more comfortable in leadership roles, particularly when it comes to speaking with pitchers and establishing plans throughout a game. If Moreno were a shortstop or center fielder, this would be a simpler conversation, but the Blue Jays need to consider how he manages a staff and bullpen. What Moreno has done through the first two months of the 2021 Minor League season is rare. (Matheson - mlb.com)
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2021 Season: Gabriel was on a tear at the start of his Double-A season. In the hardest league to transition into, he posted a .373/.441/1.092 slash line in 145 plate appearances. Furthermore, he threw out 14 runners in 32 attempts for a success rate of 43.75%. With a wRC+ of 192 in Double A, things were looking up and he was on the brink of breaking into Buffalo’s team.
Then he got hit in the hand and needed thumb surgery and missed significant time. Upon returning he only had 14 plate appearances between the Rookie League and Triple A, so his involvement in the Fall League isn’t surprising.
2021 AFL - 11 doubles. There were some high expectations for the top Blue Jays prospect coming into the fall. Moreno broke out in a big way by showing a plus hit tool and above-average power but was limited to only 32 games at Double-A New Hampshire due to a fractured thumb. He looked like himself for title-winning Mesa as the league leader in two-baggers with three more than anyone else. He hit .329/.410/.494 in 100 plate appearances, underlining how much his hard contact landed in the gaps more than over the fence. Bonus fact: Moreno had the highest exit velocities in both the Fall Stars and Championship Games. (Sam Dykstra - Nov. 21, 2021)
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MLB Debut (June 11, 2022): Canada is just a stone’s throw from Comerica Park, so it was understandable that the Blue Jays’ fan base was strong in the crowd against the Tigers.
Of course, it might also have had a little to do with everyone wanting the first peek at MLB’s fourth-best prospect in his Major League debut. To his credit, catcher Gabriel Moreno did not disappoint. The Blue Jays’ top prospect caught a runner stealing, had a mound visit, fielded a popup, threw down to first, blocked pitches and more during Toronto’s 3-1 loss to the Tigers.
Collecting his first hit was the cherry atop a banner day for the kid who has gone from a 16-year-old undrafted free agent from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, to one of the game’s most promising young backstops in less than seven years.
Moreno soaked up every bit of it.
“It’s been very emotional,” he said via team translator Hector Lebron. “I will remember this moment the rest of my life.” (D Klemish - MLB.com - June 11, 2022)
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Aug. 17, 2022: During a game between the Buffalo Bisons and Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Moreno hit the baseball so hard that, well, it got stuck IN the outfield wall, ripping right through the cover of the left-field wall.
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2022 Season: With the Bisons, he slashed .315/.386/.420 in his 267 plate appearances with the Prairie Cows.
Although he didn’t hit many homers (only three all season), he put the ball in play more often than not. Moreno has the ability to shoot the ball the opposite way, as he had a 37.4 opposite-field hit percentage with the Bisons this season.
The 22-year-old catcher also registered four games with four or more hits and seven with three hits. He was only held hitless in 15 of his 62 games as well.
Moreno hit consistently through the season, despite not getting consistent at bats while called up with the big league team. (Sept 29, 2022 | B Delaney)
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Jan 3, 2023: One of Gabriel’s earliest baseball memories is "retiring." He was eight or nine years old and had no other choice.
Moreno’s family couldn’t afford to keep him in organized baseball in Venezuela. Instead, he played soccer in the streets of Barquisimeto, which is where his baseball story could have ended.
Instead, Moreno first became one of baseball's brightest young prospects in the Blue Jays' system, and is now entering his age-23 season as a D-back after the trade that sent he and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Arizona and Daulton Varsho to Toronto. He’s now gone from a $25,000 signing in August of 2016, a routine addition that mostly didn't register at the time, to a certified bright spot who put up seven RBIs with a 111 OPS+ over 25 games after making his debut in June 2022.
Where the star catcher stands now is not where the arrows always pointed. It was Moreno, his family and the community that lifted him, which all led to this moment, and the many opportunities he will have to shine in the years to come.
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The Kid from Barquisimeto
To understand Moreno’s journey, you must first understand the Venezuela he was born into in 2000, the youngest of four children.
Food shortages and extreme poverty began to take hold of Venezuela in the late 2000s, furthered by a countrywide energy crisis that contributed to the nation’s ongoing economic decline.
Moreno’s family didn’t get through that time unscathed. His father, José Moreno, worked in street paving in their native Barquisimeto and its surrounding areas. When the crisis hit, everyone’s priorities shifted quickly.
“My dad wasn’t making much money,” said Moreno. “He couldn’t find much money, and when he did, it was for food, not for baseball.”
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What looked like the end of a childhood hobby, though, was soon resurrected as the beginning of a big league dream by a man who eventually became family to Moreno. Jose Mejia, the president of 12 de Octubre, a local baseball school, was one of the first people to believe in the promise of Moreno’s bat, taking him under his wing and putting him back on the field when he was 11.
“He picked me up, dropped me off, made everything easier for me,” said Moreno. “He helped me return to baseball. Thanks to him, I was able to go to the academy that signed me. I’m so grateful for him. Whenever I see him, I ask for his blessing. He’s been like a father to me and his whole family has helped me so much.” Mejia understood the reality of the Moreno family and what it would mean to let Gabriel’s promise disappear in a time of scarcity. Unwilling to let that happen, Mejia would lodge Moreno in his house for days at a time, essentially welcoming him into his own family.
“Every tournament was an expense for his dad,” said Mejia. “Of course, at that time, the mindset was different. The economic situation was unfavorable. Since I was always around the baseball world, I wanted to help in any way I could.
“He was like a son to me, and I was like his father at that moment.”
When I was in Venezuela, all I wanted was to be called to play in the Dominican and play ball, because I wanted to help my family forward. Truthfully, it was a difficult time, because I was very attached to my dad and my family. It was difficult, but little by little I got used to it. Because someone who has this much love for this ball has to make lots of sacrifices.
José Moreno, in the meantime, continued to support his son in any way he could — even if that involved Gabriel being away from home, spending his days with another family.
“He worked so hard,” said Gabriel of his father. “He always did everything in his power so I could play baseball. My dad is the best for helping me keep my focus on the game.”
That focus started to pay off when Gabriel gained more recognition in Venezuela — something Mejia had set as a goal from the start.
“He couldn’t stay hidden.”
At 12, Moreno joined Carlos Torres’ Champions Baseball Academy, according to Mejia. He was one step closer to the end goal.
“When I was in Venezuela, all I wanted was to be called to play in the Dominican and play ball, because I wanted to help my family forward,” said Moreno. “Truthfully, it was a difficult time, because I was very attached to my dad and my family. It was difficult, but little by little I got used to it. Because someone who has this much love for this ball has to make lots of sacrifices.”
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Uncovering the hidden gem.
Everyone involved in his journey remembers their first Gabriel Moreno story.
Andrew Tinnish, the Blue Jays’ VP of international scouting, remembers hearing early reports from Francisco Plasencia, who played professionally for a decade before joining Toronto as a scout. All of these stories share the same asterisk, though. Moreno wasn't actually the player they were expecting to scout.
“Depending on the size of the academy, they may have 10-12 [players] or 30-40 with different age groups, different classes,” Tinnish explained. “Often, you’re going to go in and an agent is going to showcase specific guys. They’ll put out a small group, maybe two or three standout guys. That’s who you’ll see take the bulk of the live at-bats if they play some type of game. Gabriel was not in that group.”
Instead, Tinnish remembers, Moreno made himself part of it.
These priority groups typically needed another hitter to round out the group, or an extra bat to face a pitcher that scouts were there to see. Every time Plasencia looked, he saw Moreno running to the front of that group. He proved he belonged, driving the ball to all fields and showing a natural hitting ability that kept Plasencia watching.
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Still, Plasencia wanted to take this a step further. It’s easy for young players to seem eager on a day they know their academy’s bleachers will be littered with MLB scouts. They’re coached for years to perform in that exact moment, not just at the plate but with every step they take in front of scouts.
That’s when Plasencia planned to return in secret. On a day Moreno didn’t expect scouts to visit, Plasencia was tucked away, watching.
“I saw this kid cleaning the field, helping to bring in all of the balls from BP to the pitcher. I never see that. I was a player for 10 years and I’d never seen a player do that,” Plasencia said. “If he knew I was there? Sure. But I’d been there a couple of times without telling anybody. I saw this kid doing the same thing every day for three or four days. I talked to the groundskeeper there, and he said, ‘Yes. This kid has done this every day since he got to this academy.’”
Even for a one-time top five prospect, this is how all of the stories begin. Not with the player, but the person.
“Parts of this are his athleticism, his vision and his coordination, but the absolute most significant piece of this is his upbringing,” said Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins. “He’s also an exceptional listener, which I find to be a great attribute of talent.” This was the determining factor for Plasencia, too. Signing 16-year-olds is all about projecting the growth of physical talents, but these are still boys growing into men. With trust in Moreno the person, his belief in the physical tools only grew, which again Plasencia brings back to Moreno’s family.
“They’re the kind of people that, it doesn’t matter if they have money or not, they’re still the same. For me, that family is unique,” Plasencia said. “This kid has that on his heart and his mind. For me, that’s why he’s so good. What touched me the most, and the most important thing to see in a player, is for him to do all of this and be the same as he was six or seven years ago.”
Certain in what he saw, Plasencia brought in Sandy Rosario, the Blue Jays’ director of Latin American operations, for a longer look. Moreno was a middle-infielder at the time, but the Blue Jays wanted to see him step behind home plate and make some throws. Those throws hit the mark, so when Rosario came to town, they put Moreno in catcher’s gear.
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That day was rough. Moreno looked like a young kid wearing gear he’d never worn before, but by the next day, he was already looking better. At this point, Plasencia and Rosario knew three things. Moreno could hit, he had natural talent to work with and he wanted to be better. That was enough, so a $25,000 contract was signed.
Around when Moreno signed, he was in the middle of playing a state tournament on a club with Mejia, who’d done so much to get him to that moment. Moreno had to stop playing initially after the deal was signed, but it was a long tournament, stretching over a couple of months, and eventually, Moreno’s agent gave Mejia a call and said that Moreno was cleared to play in the final games of the tournament.
Mejia slotted his unofficial son back into the lineup.
“His first at-bat, at 3-0, he hit it out of the park as if he were a grown man,” Mejia remembers. “From then on, his steps as a professional player began.”
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Developing a star Moreno enjoyed some early success as an 18-year-old in the Rookie GCL and Appalachian League, but his full-season debut with Single-A Lansing in 2019 put him squarely on the radar.
On that Lugnuts team was Jordan Groshans, once the Blue Jays’ No. 3 prospect and now on the Marlins. Groshans came up through the system with Moreno, including the ‘21 season with Double-A New Hampshire where Moreno hit .373 with 8 home runs and a 1.092 OPS in just 32 games before breaking his left thumb. That surge skyrocketed him up prospect rankings.
“I’m just so proud of him. He’s like a brother to me. It’s really good to see how much love he’s getting, how much support he’s getting and how far he’s come,” Groshans said. “Everybody else knows how much of a superstar he is, but it seems like he doesn’t. It’s normal for him. He shows up, goofy, laughing and joking around with his teammates, then goes out and goes 4-for-4 like it’s nothing. He’s just a joy to be around and a great teammate.”
Coaches echoed Moreno’s teammates throughout the Blue Jays’ system. He left an immediate impression playing winter ball with Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela for two offseasons, during which he met and played under Carlos Mendoza, the bench coach for the New York Yankees.
“He walked into that clubhouse in the middle of a year and fit right in,” Mendoza said. “It was just another guy in the clubhouse. His interactions with his teammates, joking around. And when they were pulling for him, that tells you a lot about the person Gabriel is. He was special.”
During the 2021 offseason, Moreno was with Lara as a DH, getting him more at-bats after a shortened season. What Mendoza remembers, though, is finding Moreno at the field early every single day, going through drills as a catcher and third baseman even though he wouldn’t be playing defensively.
“This is a guy that is a No. 1 prospect,” Mendoza explained of that period. “Everybody talks about him coming from the Fall League, and he walks into a clubhouse full of veterans, guys from all over. And he was just very humble, he listened, very respectful. Credit to his parents for raising a great kid and the Blue Jays for continuing to do that. Very humble, very quiet, willing to learn, asking good questions.” In Triple-A Buffalo, Moreno played under manager Casey Candaele, who’s seen it all after 18 professional seasons, including nine in the Majors before moving on to coach with the Mariners, Rangers and Blue Jays.
Candaele remembers his Moreno moment, too. It was a throw.
With a runner at second base, Moreno picked a slider out of the dirt with a lefty in the box, dragging the catcher behind the hitter’s body. The baserunner broke for third, thinking the ball would get past Moreno, but he managed to keep it in front of him. Moreno twitched his body away from the hitter to create a throwing path, but immediately saw his own pitcher was in the way, so he made a second adjustment to throw around both players. The throw was a rocket, the runner was out. And it all happened in a split second.
“I asked him what he was thinking, and he explained exactly what transpired,” Candaele remembers. “Just to be able to do that in the moment is pretty instinctually advanced. That’s something that, when it happened, I stopped and said, ‘Man, that’s special.’"
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Soon enough, everyone will have their first big league story with Moreno. He has the potential to be a franchise cornerstone in Arizona, growing old and chasing championships alongside new teammates like Corbin Carroll (the D-backs' No. 1 prospect) and Alek Thomas.
When that moment comes, Moreno will think of his father, mother and three older siblings. He’ll also think of Mejia. He’s family, too.
“I have no words. I have two sons and he’s like the third,” Mejia said. “He’s such a humble kid, so honest, hard-working. He carries his values at the root of his humility. And with everything he’s accomplished, it hasn’t changed the way he sees the world. He’s still the same ball player and the same person. As a person, I can guarantee it, he’s better than as a ball player. So, imagine how great that is.”
That moment will bring an ending and a beginning. Far from Barquisimeto, where Moreno played soccer on streets paved by his father, he’s building on the many moments that almost never were.
“If I tell this story, no one believes me.” (K Matheson & J Kreuz - MLB.com - Jan 3, 2023)
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Sept 11-14, 2023: Moreno was on the paternity list joining his wife for the birth of their child.
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2023 Season: After returning from injury in mid-August, he hit .311 with an .878 OPS for the remainder of the regular season. But in the two-month stretch that preceded his injured-list stint, he hit .218 with a .606 OPS. For the first five games of the playoffs, he was a breakout star, hitting three home runs. Over the final 12 games, he had just two extra-base hits.
Behind the plate, Diamondbacks’ pitchers lauded Moreno’s growth as a game-caller, emphasizing their trust in him. By most measures, he rated as the sport’s best catcher at throwing runners out, nailing an absurd 16 of 33 potential base stealers. But in metrics that attempt to quantify pitch framing, he graded out as below average.
This complicated nature of Moreno’s profile is reflected in his stats. By Baseball Reference’s calculations, Moreno was worth 4.3 wins above replacement in 2023, the most of any catcher. By Fangraphs’ calculations, he was worth 1.9 wins, ranking just 15th.
But Moreno is just 23. Using Baseball Reference’s version of WAR, only 13 other players have ever had as valuable of a season at such a young age while playing the majority of their games at catcher.
There are also reasons to believe Moreno can continue to develop. Before this year, he had never played more than 82 games in a season. This year, he played 128, including the playoffs. It takes time to adapt to that workload. And at the plate, the Diamondbacks believed they made progress developing his plate approach down the stretch.
“His ability to get to those pitches where they hang them,” hitting coach Joe Mather said during the World Series, “whether they're fastballs or breaking balls, instead of those borderline pitches, which are almost always to the pitcher's advantage — that combination of things has led to the on-base and the additional power.” (Theo Mackie - Dec. 24, 2023)
TRANSACTIONS
- August 2016: Moreno was a bargain free agent, signing for just $25,000, out of Venezuela via scout Francisco Plasencia.
- Dec 23, 2022: The Diamondbacks traded C Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays for SS Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and C Gabriel Moreno.
Nickname: | N/A | Position: | C |
Home: | N/A | Team: | DIAMONDBACKS |
Height: | 5' 11" | Bats: | R |
Weight: | 170 | Throws: | R |
DOB: | 2/14/2000 | Agent: | N/A |
Uniform #: | 14 | ||
Birth City: | Barquisimeto, Venez. | ||
Draft: | Blue Jays - 2016 - Free agent - Out of Venezuela |
YR | LEA | TEAM | SAL(K) | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | OBP | SLG | AVG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | DSL | DSL-Blue Jays | 32 | 125 | 9 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | .274 | .296 | .248 | |
2018 | APP | BLUEFIELD | 17 | 61 | 10 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | .303 | .459 | .279 | |
2018 | GCL | GCL-Blue Jays | 23 | 92 | 14 | 38 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | .455 | .652 | .413 | |
2019 | MWL | LANSING | 82 | 307 | 47 | 86 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 52 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 38 | .337 | .485 | .280 | |
2021 | TAE | BUFFALO | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .111 | .111 | |
2021 | DAN | NEW HAMPSHIRE | 32 | 126 | 29 | 47 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 45 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 22 | .441 | .651 | .373 | |
2022 | IL | BUFFALO | 62 | 238 | 35 | 75 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 24 | 45 | .386 | .420 | .315 | |
2022 | AL | BLUE JAYS | 25 | 69 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | .356 | .377 | .319 | |
2023 | NL | DIAMONDBACKS | 111 | 341 | 33 | 97 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 50 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 75 | .339 | .408 | .284 | |
2024 | AZL | ACL | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1.000 | .500 | |
2024 | NL | DIAMONDBACKS | 97 | 305 | 39 | 81 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 45 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 52 | .353 | .380 | .266 |
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Moreno displays an innate ability to make solid contact, with a highly impressive 70 grade hit tool. And he has added power without sacrificing any of his impressive hitting ability.
Always an elite hitter, Gabriel continues to make contact at one of the highest rates of any prospect. He possesses superior hand-eye coordination and a discerning eye that he uses to identify spin quickly out of the pitcher's hand. His swing plane has flattened out, and he is naturally comfortable shooting pitches on the outer half of the plate to the opposite field. After showing increased power and more aggressiveness in two-strike counts in previous seasons, Moreno has become a more conservative hitter as he's moved up the ladder.
Gabrel's two-strike swing has become more subdued, leading to an increase in line drives and ground balls and a corresponding decrease in fly balls and exit velocity numbers. His power production has dropped as a result, but he has the bat control, pitch recognition and strength to make adjustments and get to 12-15 home run power in the future. (Geoff Pontes - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2023)
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Gabriel, a right-handed slugger shows a quick and compact swing that he uses with promising hand-eye coordination to make a good amount of contact. He struck out in only 14.8 percent of his plate appearances in 2021. His power has come along quicker than expected, and while he won’t be a .600 slugger at the top level, he should be at least above average in the category eventually with his added strength. (Spring 2022)
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Gabriel has an elite combination of quickness, bat speed, hitting actions and excellent contact skills. Difficult to whiff throughout his career, Moreno had just a 15% strikeout rate in 2021. His quick, efficient swing and bat-to-ball ability helps him turn around premium velocity on the inner third and counter pitchers who attack at the top of the zone with a knack for barreling those pitches. Moreno's swing evolved during his 2019 season in Low-A to incorporate more dynamic, athletic movements, which helped him start to tap into more power at the time.
The last two years (202-21), Moreno has maintained that swing while getting significantly stronger, with his higher-end exit velocities jumping from the low 100s to the 108 mph area. The result has been a more complete hitter who makes frequent contact, uses the whole field and has at least average power that he gets to in games. Moreno has always been an aggressive hitter, chasing or swinging at borderline pitches too often early in his career—and still often making contact—but he has steadily become more selective and posted a 9% walk rate in 2021. (Ben Badler - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2022)
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At the alternate training site in 2020, Moreno didn’t just turn coaches' heads. Fellow players raved about the young catcher, who was making louder contact and consistently driving the ball in the air with his quick, compact swing. With low strikeout and walk rates, Moreno puts plenty of balls in play with his very advanced hand-eye coordination and has added even more power as he’s matured in the pro game. He should be above average in both the hit and power categories, a scary scenario considering his position. (Spring 2021)
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“His approach is aggressive, but it’s good aggression,” one scout said. “It’s swinging at balls that he should be swinging at, which is really the mark of a good hitter . . . No matter if the rest of his body gets a little bit fooled, his hands are always back. He uses the whole field. He just smokes balls back up the middle, and is totally content to do that."
In today’s game, the high-spin fastball at the top of the zone is the favorite weapon of many pitchers. Most hitters struggle to get the bat on the ball, and if they do, it’s likely going to result in weak contact. One of the early things that stuck out about Moreno was that he was the rare hitter who wasn’t overly susceptible to that type of pitch.
“When we watched him, it was always one of those things that, with how the game is being pitched nowadays, he was going to be OK because he wasn’t going to get blown away by these fastballs, especially these fastballs up in the zone,” Mense said. “He could kind of launch the barrel high and stay quote-unquote above the baseball a bit longer than what most guys can because he grew up not being very strong.
“Because of that, he had to hit balls low because he knew that for him to get hits, he wasn’t going to be able to hit them in the air and get them over guys’ heads and get him over the fence . . . Even when he first got with us, the path was a little bit more above the ball to where it was like a low line drive-type of stroke. The more he worked like that, it helped when he got into games because he didn’t miss underneath those fastballs that now you see a lot of those guys miss underneath.” (Josh Norris - Baseball America - Aug., 2021)
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Gabriel jumps out for his athleticism and elite hand-eye coordination. He has excellent control of the barrel and his body, striking out just 11% of the time in 2019. He has incorporated bigger, more athletic movements into his swing since signing to help him drive the ball with more impact, something that started to pop in 2019 and gives him a chance for 15-20 home runs.
Moreno’s knack for making hard contact is a product of his outstanding hand-eye coordination and his preternatural feel for getting the barrel to the ball. He’s cognizant of those strengths to a fault at times, as he’ll attack pitches outside of the zone simply because he can reach them. At the same time, he neither strikes out nor walks all that often and he has the ability to use the whole field. There’s enough juice in his bat to safely project double-digit home run totals though he more likely will profile to hit more for average than for power. (Spring 2021)
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Gabriel is adept at squaring up good velocity, though he still has chase tendencies he’s working to tighten and become more selective on borderline pitches. (Ben Badler - Baseball America - Spring, 2021)
- He has a 55 grade hit tool and 45 grade power.
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Gabriel displays good rhythm and timing at the plate, along with a preternatural ability to make contact. with superb hand-eye coordination and some of the best bat control in the Jays' organization.
Moreno’s knack for making hard contact is a product of his outstanding hand-eye coordination and his preternatural feel for getting the barrel to the ball. He’s cognizant of those strengths to a fault at times, as he’ll attack pitches outside of the zone simply because he can reach them. At the same time, he neither strikes out nor walks all that often and he has the ability to use the whole field. There’s enough juice in his bat to safely project double-digit home run totals though he more likely will profile to hit more for average than for power. (Spring 2020)
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Gabriel's swing has evolved since signing—he has added bigger, more athletic movements in an effort to drive the ball with more impact—and his athleticism and body awareness help him make adjustments quickly. Moreno isn’t that big, but those changes have helped him display more power, with a chance to be a 15-20 home run hitter.
Moreno isn’t a free swinger, but he walked in just 6 percent of his plate appearances. He will get himself into trouble when he expands the zone and make soft contact on pitches he should lay off (Ben Badler - BA Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2020)
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Gabriel rarely misses when he swings, so he strikes out very rarely. But he still needs to learn when not to swing, as he's an extremely aggressive hitter who rarely walks, with his bat-to-ball skills getting him in trouble at time because he connects for weak contact on pitches he should lay off. (Ben Badler - BA Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2019)
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Gabriel is developing 50 grade power. He has a 55 grade hit tool.
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2019 Season: Moreno caught the eye of Lansing manager Dallas McPherson, after he joined the LugNuts in May 2019.
"Moreno is a really, really good-looking prospect,” McPherson said. "He handles the bat really well for a young age. He has a really good feel for the strike zone and, again, a very low swing-and-miss rate.”
Moreno gains a step above his age group with sensational hand-eye coordination and excellent barrel control. Factoring in his size, Moreno’s hit tool is likely to overshadow his future power projection, but that’s not to say he won’t see double-digit home runs down the road.
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2020 Season: Moreno is eighth on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Blue Jays prospects. Still just 20, Moreno was part of the club’s alternate training site in 2020 and has earned impressive reviews throughout the organization. In his last full season with Class A Lansing in 2019, Moreno hit .280 with 12 home runs and an .823 OPS over 82 games. With an above-average plate approach, plenty of hard contact and a defensive game that the Blue Jays believe in long-term behind the plate, Moreno was a no-brainer to protect this offseason.
With Moreno and Adams joining Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Reese McGuire, the Blue Jays have a good problem on their hands. It’s not comfortable for a team to carry five catchers on their 40-man roster while also trying to be aggressive in adding external players over the offseason, but the Blue Jays can face that logjam when they reach it. When negotiating on the trade market, many opposing teams will check in on the availability of Toronto’s catching depth, given how rare it is across baseball. (K Matheson - MLB.com - Nov 20, 2020)
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Dec 4, 2020: Gabriel Moreno (Blue Jays No. 8)
Moreno is off to a fast start in Venezuela for Cardenales de Lara. The 20-year-old catcher is hitting .421 (8-for-19) and three of his eight hits have gone for extra bases (two doubles and a homer). Moreno has also driven in seven runs, walked three times and struck out twice.
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2021 Blue Jays Breakout Prospect: Gabriel Moreno
Moreno hit .373/.441/.651 with eight homers in 32 games for Double-A New Hampshire before a broken thumb put him on the shelf for much of the season. Still, he showed enough promise as an all-around catcher in those looks to jump into the top spot of Toronto’s rankings, and he should get the chance to become the Jays’ catcher of the present and future next summer. (Mayo, Dykstra and Boor - MLB.com - Dec 23, 2021)
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2022 Blue Jays Top International Prospect: Gabriel Moreno, C, Venezuela (No. 1, MLB No. 32)
Originally signed out of Venezuela in August 2016, Moreno has developed into one of the biggest names on this list. He was an infielder back home, but the 21-year-old has developed into a solid defensive backstop with a promising arm. His bat might be most promising now after a season in which he hit .373/.441/.651 with eight homers in 32 games at Double-A. (Callis, Boor, Dykstra - MLB.com - Jan 14, 2022)
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Moreno was part of one of the most lopsided trades of the 2022-23 offseason, when the Diamondbacks acquired him and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from the Blue Jays for Daulton Varsho. A clear win for Arizona.
Moreno had a nice rookie year, hitting .284 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs. For 2024, I’m predicting 16-18 home runs with 75-85 RBIs and another Gold Glove. (Bowden - Mar 19, 2024 - The Athletic)
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Gabriel is an athletic catcher. He is working to improve his receiving and blocking ability. He gets a 60 grade, providing above-average defense behind the plate. And he's getting better. He moves with impressive athleticism. And, Moreno has a 60 grade arm.
Moreno faces few questions about his ability to stick at catcher as an above-average defender with a plus arm. He is an adept receiver, gets out of the crouch quickly on throws and is a twitchy, fluid mover behind the plate. He's a good blocker and pitch-framer and shows the ability to manage games in the moment.
Moreno got on-the-job training in MLB in 2022. He made appearances at second base, third base and left field in order to increase his flexibility, but his future is behind the plate. He'll have the opportunity to seize a larger share of the catching duties in 2023 and could be on his way to becoming an all-star. (G. Pontes - BAPH - Spring, 2023)
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Moreno has made promising developments behind the plate as well. An infielder at the time of signing, the 22-year-old puts his athleticism to use with blocking, receiving and throwing. He has an above-average arm with a quick release, capable of controlling the running game as he did with a 40 percent caught-stealing rate last year. Moreno saw some time at third base in the AFL, but his ceiling behind the plate is immense as a potential All-Star. (Spring 2022)
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Moreno blows away evaluators blown away by his skills behind the plate. The Venezuela native is a plus 55 grade defender, and he put that on full display by throwing out 41% of base-stealers this season, showing a near-complete tool set and high upside. He has a 60 grade arm and a quick release helps him record pop times below 1.9 seconds at times.
“The question isn’t if he’s going to get the big leagues or how good he’s going to be in the big leagues. It’s how many All-Star Games is he going to be in for the next 10 years,” one National League talent evaluator said late in the 2021 season.
"There's tremendous benefit and advantage in increasing his reps behind the plate and in him continuing to hone his swing decisions,” Blue Jays farm director Gil Kim said. “We definitely see a development benefit (in the AFL) as well as generally making up for lost time.”
While the hot corner “is not (Moreno’s) primary position, it is an option that maybe down the road will be in play,” Kim said. “Right now, we're focused on catching, but as we've seen, maximizing versatility is huge.”
Kim said the Blue Jays were most pleased by Moreno’s “step up in leadership and routines” this season, despite his youth, particularly in “being able to get on the same page with the pitching staff and the coaching staff, review how we're going to attack the group of hitters that night and review the next day how that went and being accountable to that." (Shi Davidi - Baseball America - Spring, 2022)
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Behind the plate, it’s Moreno’s quickness and athleticism that appeal most to evaluators. Those skills, along with an above-average arm, are what give the Blue Jays confidence in Moreno as a catcher not just today, but in his development going forward, as well. Moreno is young with development still ahead of him, but he has a path to becoming a Major League starter. Even with the lost time due to injury this year, Moreno is young and looking like he may not be far from helping Toronto at the top level. He’s become one of the game’s most exciting catching prospects before his 22nd birthday. (Spring 2021)
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Defensively, Moreno impresses club officials with his athleticism and energy behind the plate, and they believe he has a chance to stay there long term. His arm strength is average but plays up because he has solid catch-and-throw skills which culminate with a quick release. Moreno to develop into a big league regular.
Moreno moves well thanks to solid athleticism with good transfer skills. He blocks pitches better-than most big league catchers. (Spring 2020)
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Moreno displays a 60 grade arm, and he exchanges the ball quickly.
In 2018, Gabriel threw out 38 percent of runners attempting to steal. He is a 50 grade defensive catcher.
In 2019, Gabriel threw out 33 percent of potential base thieves.
GOLD GLOVER
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2023 Season: Moreno won his first Gold Glove and first Fielding Bible Award. Moreno threw out 21 would-be base-stealers in 56 attempts, which equated to an MLB-best 7 Stolen Base Runs Saved. He also earned 5 Runs Saved for pitch blocking, second in MLB to Nick Fortes.
Diamondbacks pitchers had a 3
.94 regular season ERA when Moreno caught. When he didn’t, their ERA was 5.25. Moreno joins Jeff Mathis as the only Diamondbacks catchers to win a Fielding Bible Award.Moreno, 23, became the first D-backs’ catcher to earn Gold Glove honors and did so in his first full Major League season. His 3.1 defensive bWAR led the Majors for all positions, the first catcher since Iván Rodríguez/Rangers in 1997 (3.0) and second D-back along with Nick Ahmed in 2018 (3.7) to lead the Majors in defensive bWAR. His 3.1 defensive bWAR is the fourth-best in a season by a D-back, behind SS Nick Ahmed (3.7 in 2018), INF Craig Counsell (3.5 in 2005) and OF Gerardo Parra (3.2 in 2013).
Moreno’s 20 defensive runs saved led all catchers and were fifth among position players in 2023 as well as tied for the fourth most by a catcher in the last 5 full seasons, since 2018. His 20 DRS are also the fourth-most in a season by a D-back behind Craig Counsell (30 in 2005), Gerardo Parra (29 in 2013) and Nick Ahmed (28 in 2018).
Moreno led all catchers (min. 90 games) with a 38.6 caught stealing percentage (22-for-57). In 104 games (94 starts) at catcher, he posted a .997 fielding percentage and committed only 3 errors in 879 total chances across 854.0 innings.
Moreno also posted elite numbers in blocks above average and pop time.
- 2024 Season: Moreno was nominated for a Gold Glove.
- Gabriel is a 40 grade runner, so he won't ever turn a single into a double. But he's not a base-clogger either.
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June 2021: Moreno suffered a fractured thumb when he was hit by a pitch and underwent surgery.
But Gabriel returned to terrorize pitchers in the Arizona Fall League in October 2021.
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2022: A wrist injury brought on questions about Moreno's power.
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July 23-Aug 13, 2023: Moreno was on the IL with a left shoulder inflammation.
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June 22-July 2, 2024: Moreno was on the IL with a sprained left thumb.
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Aug 5, 2024: Moreno, who slugged a solo home run in his first at-bat in Monday’s 7-6 win in 10 innings against the Guardians, left the game in the second inning after injuring his groin running out a ground-ball single.
Moreno hit a line drive off pitcher Logan Allen and sprinted down the line before hobbling about halfway through. After Moreno reached first base, he fell to the ground and was attended to by manager Torey Lovullo and the D-backs’ training staff.
Aug 6-Sept 15, 2024: Moreno was on the IL with left abductor strain.
Aug 8, 2024: Lovullo said that Moreno will likely be out “several weeks” as the club continues to evaluate the severity of his injury. Moreno received imaging upon returning to Arizona but the club is planning on getting a second opinion before providing further updates.