White Sox claim Daniel Moskos, send to Charlotte

[southsider2k5]

JJ Stankevitz ‏@JJStankevitz

 

RT @DanHayesCSN: #WhiteSox claimed LHP Daniel Moskos off waivers from Pittsburgh and optioned him to Triple-A.

[Y2Jimmy0]

JJ Stankevitz ‏@JJStankevitz

 

RT @DanHayesCSN: #WhiteSox claimed LHP Daniel Moskos off waivers from Pittsburgh and optioned him to Triple-A.

 

ss2k, any info on how he has been? He was a 1st rounder, 4th overall, in I want to say 2007.... It is a typical Kenny Williams signing. I will go do some research.

[southsider2k5]

ss2k, any info on how he has been? He was a 1st rounder, 4th overall, in I want to say 2007.... It is a typical Kenny Williams signing. I will go do some research.

 

The numbers don't look awful. He doesn't K a lot of guys, but he doesn't seem to get hurt either.

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...P=Daniel-Moskos

[Andy the Clown]

JJ Stankevitz ‏@JJStankevitz

 

RT @DanHayesCSN: #WhiteSox claimed LHP Daniel Moskos off waivers from Pittsburgh and optioned him to Triple-A.

 

Good pick up. Lefty reliever who throws in the 92 mph vicinity. Was once the fourth overall pick of the 2007 draft.

 

He's only 26; if he is healthy, he might benefit from our renowned pitching coaches.

[southsider2k5]

Scouting report from last year

 

http://www.scoutingbook.com/players/p2386

[caulfield12]

Remember John Van Benschoten, lol...? That didn't work so well. Yet another relief candidate for our deep pool. Obviously, at some point, he was highly thought of by at least ONE GM, haha. This is the pick that got Littlefield axed.

 

 

 

The Pirates selected Moskos with the fourth pick in the 2007 draft. Although Baseball America rated him as the 8th best player in the draft, there were better players available, including several potential impact hitters. The Pirates, however, were unwilling to pay the money needed to acquire Scott Boras client Matt Wieters. For some reason they also passed over Georgia HS prospect Jason Heyward even though scouting director Ed Creech lived in Georgia. Instead, they fell back on their Littlefield-era default choice of college pitching. Moskos signed in mid-July for $2.475M.

 

Moskos’ high rating by BA and other observers was a little puzzling all along. He was Clemson’s closer in 2006, but converted to starting partway into the 2007 season. He threw in the low- to mid-90s with a lot of life as a closer, but only 89-92 when starting, and by the end of the season he was down in the high 80s. Moskos supposedly had a “wipeout” slider that served as his out pitch, along with a curve and change that were not as well regarded. BA described his command as average. He has a high-effort delivery and had little projection at the time of the draft, so he was probably about as good as he was going to get. His college numbers were good but not overwhelming; for one thing, he allowed far more baserunners than the typical dominating college hurler, especially one pitching mainly in relief. As a starter, scouts projected him in the middle, not the front, of the rotation. Many observers thought he’d return to the bullpen as a pro and, in fact, the Pirates said after the draft that he’d be a closer. It’s difficult not to draw the conclusion that, aside from money, the Pirates were influenced by two other factors in making the pick: Salomon Torres’ struggles as closer shortly before the draft and the desire to get bullpen help for 2008, when they figured to be trying to avoid tying the record for consecutive losing seasons. If so, the selection belied former GM Dave Littlefield’s statement, made shortly before the draft, that the team would take the best player available regardless of specific needs.

 

As if the questionable ceiling wasn’t enough, Moskos had to face the ominous prospect of being a first round Pirates’ pitcher. At the time of the selection, the Pirates had taken pitchers first seven times in nine years. Five of the seven saw their careers derailed by major arm surgery and one other went nowhere due to arm problems and poor command. Two of the seven were relievers in college yet still ran into major health problems as pros, so the fact that Moskos had less wear than some college pitchers did little to reduce the risk factor. His high effort delivery also contributed to the injury risk. For all kinds of reasons, this was a baffling and frustrating selection. It also created a furor among Pirate fans that seemed to catch management off guard. In fact, the best thing that could be said about the selection is that the resulting, and justified, criticism probably contributed to Littlefield’s long overdue firing.

 

2007

R: 0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

A-: 0-0-1, 4.26 ERA, 1.97 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 9.2 K/9

 

Moskos’ performance after signing didn’t help quell the uproar. After a couple warmup outings in the GCL, he went to State College and pitched poorly. A .328 opponents’ BA in short season ball is not exactly what people expect from a guy taken fourth overall from a very strong draft pool. There were conflicting reports about Moskos’ velocity, but most indicated it got into the low 90s at least some of the time.

 

2008

A+: 7-7-0, 5.95 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 110.1 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 6.4 K/9

 

Opened in the Lynchburg rotation, as the team’s new management believes that pitching prospects should at least initally be brought along as starters to get increased work. Unfortunately, Moskos pitched poorly from start, getting hit hard, struggling at times with his control, and posting a K rate far below league average. He regressed over time, culminating in a horrid July with an ERA of 11.81 and more walks than strikeouts. The Pirates blamed the July collapse on fatigue, but Moskos wasn’t pitching well even before then. His offerings left scouts thoroughly unimpressed, as his fastball was generally only in the high 80s and his slider bore no resemblance to a “wipeout” pitch . Scouts also questioned his conditioning. The only positive was better pitching after Moskos moved to the bullpen in August, posting a 2.61 ERA and fanning 20 in 20.2 IP, with 17 hits allowed. For the year, his problems came mostly against RHP hitters, as he was effective against LH hitters. He also had a high groundout to air out ratio of 1.89.

 

2009

AA: 11-10-0, 3.74 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 149 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 4.7 K/9

 

The Pirates promoted Moskos to Altoona and put him back in the rotation. He showed improvement from the start, but for much of season his walk total was higher than his K total. He survived by inducing large numbers of groundballs, as he had a 2.10 GO/AO ratio for the year. Late in season, he started putting up better numbers. He fanned 27 while walking only six and allowing 31 hits in his last 33 IP. Moskos’ stock took another hit, though, in the Arizona Fall League, as he struggled there and generated abysmal scouting reports.

 

2010

AA: 3-1-21, 1.52 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 41.1 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 9.4 K/9

AAA: 0-5-1, 10.38 ERA, 2.65 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 10.4 BB/9, 9.3 /9.

 

Back at Altoona in 2010, Moskos opened the season as closer and seemingly turned things completely around. His fastball was in the mid-90s regularly and his slider was effective again. He dominated both right- and left-handed hitters, fanned more than a batter an inning, and got a lot of groundballs. At end of June the Pirates promoted Moskos to Indianapolis and he seemed finally to be on fast track to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, he completely imploded in AAA due to an inability to throw strikes. He struggled in pretty much every outing and eventually went back to Altoona, where he picked up where he’d left off before the promotion. It’s hard to understand how he could have such different experience from moving up just one level, but evidently AAA hitters weren’t chasing pitches that AA hitters were chasing. Even at Altoona the one, seemingly minor flaw in Moskos’ pitching was somewhat shaky control.

 

2011

AAA: 1-1-3, 3.43 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 42 IP, 2.4 BB/9, 6.2 K/9

MLB: 1-1-0, 2.96 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 4.1 K/9

 

The Pirates added Moskos to the 40-man roster after the 2010 season and sent him back to Indianapolis to open 2011. He pitched well in April and got called up late in the month. Except for one brief spell in May, he stayed in the majors until July. He continued pitching well in AAA until August, when he struggled. His numbers in AAA were good except for the low K rate. He was very tough on left-handed hitters (.533 OPS), just decently against right-handed hitters (.729 OPS). As the WHIP shows, he didn’t pitch as well in the majors as his ERA indicates. He tended to fall behind hitters and didn’t show the stuff he supposedly had in 2010. His fastball sat at 92 and topped out at 94, and his slider wasn’t very effective. He had a huge reverse platoon split that was probably a fluke. He did continue to be a strong groundball pitcher and allowed no HRs. The Pirates generally tried to use Moskos in low leverage situations, in contrast to Tony Watson, so it’s clear that Watson has surpassed Moskos on the depth chart.

 

Moskos adapted much better to AAA in 2011 and pitched decently in the majors, but he didn’t show the outstanding stuff that he supposedly had as a closer in college. Combined with his shaky command, it’s hard to see him as more than a middle reliever unless his stuff takes a step forward. He did have a good spring in 2012, but lost out to Tony Watson for the one lefty spot in the bullpen. He’ll open in AAA and will probably appear in Pittsburgh at some point.

 

UPDATE: Moskos continued to get uninspiring results in AAA in 2012 and, in late June, the Pirates designated him for assignment to clear 40-man roster space. It wouldn’t be surprising if he cleared waivers.

 

piratesprospects.com

[Quin]

Former high pick pitcher with problems.

 

That seems about right.

[Steve9347]

Kenny has his mojo back.

[southsider2k5]

keithlaw ‏@keithlaw

 

He's worked these miracles before. RT @JimNeedsCoffee: Don Cooper teaches Moskos a cutter and makes him a viable MLB starter? Even a #5.

 

keithlaw ‏@keithlaw

 

.@JimNeedsCoffee Moskos always had a lot of effort in his delivery, though.

[SoxAce]

Haha.. Moskos there's a blast from the past. Solid arm though. Nice pickup.

[whitem0nkey]

why is a guy with a 2.96 ERA in MLB being waived?

[Reddy]

why is a guy with a 2.96 ERA in MLB being waived?

the WHIP is atrocious.

[Steve9347]

the WHIP is atrocious.

Zach Stewart territory.

[Chisoxfn]

Good, low risk move. See if our coaching and different voices/change of scenery can help him succeed. Lefties that can get that fastball into the mid 90's don't grow on trees (albeit it sounds like his velocity is all over the map).

[Dick Allen]

No reason to complain about this move. One thing I'd like to know is how is Cooper going to teach him a cutter if he's in Charlotte?

[caulfield12]

Maybe they just want someone with more experience over Septimo or Omogrosso?

 

Not sure. Their bullpen could use another veteran, especially if Crain's out an extended period of time.

 

[oldsox]

All but 3-4 teams passed on him.

[Balta1701]

Maybe they just want someone with more experience over Septimo or Omogrosso?

 

Not sure. Their bullpen could use another veteran, especially if Crain's out an extended period of time.

26 year old with 24 career big league innings doesn't scream "more experience" to me.

[Balta1701]

All but 3-4 teams passed on him.

We have a bunch of open 40 man slots.

[YASNY]

This was probably done to add an arm to the Knight's bullpen. It has to be pretty thin with all the young guys in Chicago.

[JPN366]

They cut loose Scott Olsen to make room for him.

[caulfield12]

26 year old with 24 career big league innings doesn't scream "more experience" to me.

 

 

Well, somehow you have to have a feeling Cooper saw him somewhere and mentioned him.

 

In the Ozzie book, Morrissey mentioned how one of the bigger conflicts last year was Cooper wanting to pitch Santiago and Ozzie preferring to go with veterans in the pen like Ohman and thinking they were still in it...

Edited July 7, 2012 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

HE GAWN!

 

Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales

 

Sox outrighted LHP Daniel Moskos to Charlotte, 40-man roster now at 39. Could make room for Dan Johnson when 25-man rosters can be expanded.

[elrockinMT]

No reason to complain about this move. One thing I'd like to know is how is Cooper going to teach him a cutter if he's in Charlotte?

 

 

Good question. Apparently he is a miracle maker. Every pitcher we sign as a free agent or claim a guy off waivers and Cooper is going to make him a star.