Gabriel Moreno

Gabriel Moreno

24-Year-Old CatcherC
Arizona Diamondbacks
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Every year, there is a player whose playoff exploits overshadow his regular season. In 380 regular season plate appearances, Moreno swatted seven homers. In 70 postseason trips to the dish, he clubbed four dingers. Perhaps the best approach is evaluating 2024 is combining the two, yielding 11 long balls in 450 plate appearances. In those 70 plate appearances, Moreno continued to hit a preponderance of ground balls, he just happened to drive a cluster of fly balls out of the yard. However, the high ground ball rate, combined with a nine-point jump to a 41.8 percent hard hit rate supports a high BABIP, which is Moreno's primary asset; a couple more homers is a bonus. He did strike out more last season, but his 19.7 percent mark was still below average, especially for a catcher. Moreno's pitch presentation is below average, but he's otherwise outstanding behind the plate, which should result in bell cow level of playing time. Moreno is in play for those favoring to pay for a solid catcher, just don't overpay for four playoff homers. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#154
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Diamondbacks in March of 2024.
In Thursday's lineup
CArizona Diamondbacks
April 18, 2024
Moreno (thumb) will start at catcher and bat sixth in Thursday's game against the Giants.
ANALYSIS
Moreno hadn't started either of the Diamondbacks' previous two games due to a bruised right thumb, but he had been included in the initial lineup Wednesday before being scratched. He ended up appearing as a pinch hitter in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Cubs, and he now looks like he'll be ready to not only hit but also play defense in Thursday's series opener.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
2
5
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
3
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+21%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+11%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+32%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+2%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .835 163 14 3 20 2 .333 .368 .467
Since 2022vs Right .688 347 34 5 43 4 .259 .329 .359
2024vs Left .619 24 1 0 4 0 .238 .333 .286
2024vs Right .690 33 4 0 2 0 .214 .333 .357
2023vs Left .898 116 10 3 13 2 .352 .371 .528
2023vs Right .678 264 23 4 37 4 .253 .326 .352
2022vs Left .725 23 3 0 3 0 .333 .391 .333
2022vs Right .736 50 7 1 4 0 .313 .340 .396
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+12%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+10%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+14%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+23%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .778 259 22 1 29 4 .326 .378 .399
Since 2022Away .692 251 26 7 34 2 .239 .303 .389
2024Home .634 34 4 0 5 0 .207 .324 .310
2024Away .698 23 1 0 1 0 .250 .348 .350
2023Home .795 194 17 1 20 4 .333 .381 .414
2023Away .697 186 16 6 30 2 .234 .296 .401
2022Home .819 31 1 0 4 0 .400 .419 .400
2022Away .668 42 9 1 3 0 .256 .310 .359
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Stat Review
How does Gabriel Moreno compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
2.00
 
BB Rate
14.0%
 
K Rate
7.0%
 
BABIP
.244
 
ISO
.102
 
AVG
.224
 
OBP
.333
 
SLG
.327
 
OPS
.660
 
wOBA
.294
 
Exit Velocity
86.8 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
17.8%
 
Barrels/PA
1.8%
 
Expected BA
.243
 
Expected SLG
.313
 
Sprint Speed
23.5 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
60.0%
 
Line Drive %
11.1%
 
Fly Ball %
28.9%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Gabriel Moreno See More
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Heavy workload coming
CArizona Diamondbacks
September 17, 2023
Manager Torey Lovullo said Sunday he plans to play Moreno "just about every day" for the final two weeks of the regular season, reports Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic.
ANALYSIS
The 23-year-old has served as Arizona's primary backstop for most of the year and has delivered a .289/.339/.420 slash line during his first full season in the big leagues. The Diamondbacks are pushing for an NL Wild Card spot, so Moreno will see a significant workload during the closing stretch.
See All MLB Rumors
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
Not since Cristian Pache have we seen this big of a gulf between a player's ranking on real-life prospect lists and fantasy prospect lists. That's not to say Moreno will become fantasy irrelevant like Pache, but so much of his perceived real-life value is tied to his defense behind the plate. His hit tool is excellent, especially relative to other catching prospects, but Moreno has hit just 11 home runs in 99 minor-league games since the start of 2021 and his 24.9 Hard% in the minors last season is a middling mark. He did well in his first big-league stint as a 22-year-old, hitting .319 with a .274 xBA and 11.0 K% in 25 games, but he had just two extra-base hits. Prime Jonathan Lucroy - something like a .290 AVG and 15-to-20 HR - seems like a median outcome for his prime years and prime Buster Posey - say a .310 AVG and 20-to-25 HR - is a best-case scenario. Either one of those outcomes would be great for fantasy, and Moreno should have the immediate chance for everyday playing time after he was acquired by the Diamondbacks from the Blue Jays in December, though he could split starts with Carson Kelly early on.
Moreno was one of the top breakout prospects in the minors in 2021, even with a broken thumb limiting him to half a season. He had been internally labeled the team's catcher of the future entering the year, but even those highest on Moreno didn't expect him to hit .373/.441/.651 (192 wRC+) with eight home runs, a 9.7 BB% and a 15.2 K% in 32 games as a 21-year-old catcher at Double-A. He got bumped up to Triple-A for three games after returning from the thumb injury in September and then went to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .329/.410/.494 with a 13:13 K:BB in 100 PA. It's Moreno's special skill with the bat that will make him a big piece of Toronto's future, not necessarily his work behind the plate, although he is good enough to stick there. However, third base is currently a bigger hole for the Jays, and he started there twice in the AFL, leading to speculation that the hot corner may be his long-term home. His big-league ETA and short-term playing time outlook are difficult to peg, but it's possible he is up in the first few months. Moreno has an excellent command of the strike zone for a player his age, and he has the bat speed to hit 20-plus home runs with one of the best batting averages among catcher-eligible players.
More Fantasy News
Enters as pinch hitter
CArizona Diamondbacks
Thumb
April 18, 2024
Moreno (thumb) entered Wednesday's game in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1 in a 5-3 loss to the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
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Scratched from lineup again
CArizona Diamondbacks
Thumb
April 17, 2024
Moreno (thumb) was scratched from the Diamondbacks' lineup ahead of Wednesday's contest against the Cubs, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to lineup Wednesday
CArizona Diamondbacks
April 17, 2024
Moreno (thumb) will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
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Scratched Tuesday
CArizona Diamondbacks
Thumb
April 16, 2024
Moreno was scratched from the Diamondbacks' lineup ahead of Tuesday's game versus the Cubs due to a right thumb contusion, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Resting Sunday
CArizona Diamondbacks
April 14, 2024
Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
ANALYSIS
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