DANIEL MOSKOS

4/28/86; '07 1st; Clemson Univ.
R/L; 6-1, 200

Level	W-L-Sv	G	GS	IP	H	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP	OAVG	ERA
2005 NCAA	2-2-0	21	0	16.2	24	1	13	15	7.0	8.1	2.22	.338	5.40
2006 NCAA	5-5-10	33	0	53.2	44	1	21	54	3.5	9.1	1.21	.238	2.52
2007 NCAA	3-5-6	26	9	74.1	71	5	33	74	3.7	8.9	1.42	.261	2.91
2007 A-	0-0-1	11	0	12.2	19	1	6	13	4.3	9.2	1.97	.328	4.26
2007 R	0-0-0	2	0	3.0	4	0	0	3	0.0	9.0	1.33	.333	0.00
2008 A+	7-7-0	29	20	110.1	124	8	43	78	3.5	6.4	1.51	.284	5.95
2009 AA	11-10-0	27	25	149.0	159	11	58	77	3.5	4.7	1.46	.279	3.74

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 and for some reason they passed over hitters like Jason Heyward and Beau Mills.  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 has 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 has less wear than some college pitchers does little to reduce the risk factor.  His high effort delivery also contributes 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.

Moskos' performance after signing didn't do anything to quell the uproar.  In 2007, 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.  By contrast, Casey Weathers, a college closer selected eighth overall, went to full-season ball and held opponents to a .122 BA while fanning 21 in 14.2 IP.  There were conflicting reports about Moskos' velocity, but most indicated it got into the low 90s at least some of the time.  He did fare better in his last four outings.

Moskos started 2008 in the Lynchburg rotation, as the new management believes that pitching prospects should at least initally be brought along as starters to get the increased work.  Unfortunately, Moskos showed nothing to justify a first round selection.  He pitched poorly from the start, getting hit hard, struggling at times with his control, and posting a K rate far below league average.  He actually regressed over time, culminating in a horrid July with an ERA of 11.81 and more walks than strikeouts.  The Pirates blamed fatigue for the July collapse, but he wasn't pitching well even before then.  Moskos' offerings left scouts thoroughly unimpressed, as his fastball was generally only in the high 80s.  I saw him pitch twice and, apart from a merely decent fastball that he didn't command well, didn't see anything remotely resembling a wipeout slider.  Scouts also questioned his conditioning.  The only positive was that he pitched better after the Pirates moved him 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.

The Pirates nevertheless promoted Moskos to Altoona for 2009 and put him back in the rotation.  He showed improvement from the start, but for much of the season his walk total was higher than his K total.  He survived by inducing large numbers of grounders, as he had a 2.10 GO/AO ratio for the year.  Late in the season, though, he started putting up better numbers.  He actually fanned 27 while walking only six and allowing 31 hits in his last 33 IP.  It's possible he needed to increase his strength.  He's always had some ability to reach back for a little more velocity in tight situations; he just couldn't do it consistently.  There's still little reason to think he can be a starter in the majors, but he may have a future as a setup reliever.  He'll probably be in the Indianapolis rotation in 2010.

Return to Left-Handed Pitchers