Brandon Moss: OF Prospect

[CrespoBlows]

Brandon Moss

 

Age: 20

Born: September 16, 1983

Monroe, GA

Height: 6-0

Weight: 180

Bats: Left

Throws: Right

Drafted: 8th Round, 2002

How Acquired: Draft

High School: Loganville HS

ETA: 2008

 

Scouting Report: Athletic Outfielder with a good arm. He didn't show much at the plate in his first two professional seasons, but put in a good amount of work in the off-season prior to 2004, which has shown early on.

 

348 .416 .516 B South Atlantic League All-Star Game MVP

[Zenny]

He was the Sally League All-Star Game's MVP. He's a good one, but he's raw still. He won't be ready until 2007-2008.

[CrespoBlows]

Moss is now hitting .358 with 24 XBH, and 8 HR's.

[Zenny]

Baseball America's Daily Dish:

 

GREENSBORO, N.C.--Sometimes, guys seem to come out of nowhere.

 

But no matter how it appears, Class A Augusta left fielder Brandon Moss hasn't exactly come out of the woodwork--unless you're talking about emerging as one of the best hitting prospects in the Red Sox system.

 

After being drafted as a second baseman in the eighth round in 2002 out of Loganville High in Monroe, Ga., Moss landed in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and hit just .204-0-6 in 113 at-bats.

 

The 20-year-old outfielder worked hard that offseason to improve his stroke and make adjustments to the pro level, and he came back to hit .237-7-34 for short-season Lowell the following season.

 

"When I got to Lowell, everything just fell apart and my confidence went way down," Moss said. "I had worked so hard before that, just trying to get it together, and it sucks to work that hard and get no results out of it."

 

Moss appeared to be running in place. Until this year.

 

The Moss show has been fully unveiled this season in the South Atlantic League, where he is hitting .356-8-56 with a 37-48 walk-strikeout ratio in 306 at-bats for the Greenjackets. He worked hard again this past offseason on his approach at the plate and is finally getting some results.

 

"It's definitely a surprise to be doing so well, but I worked really hard this offseason at my approach at the plate," Moss said. "I kind of went back to the way I hit in high school where I wasn't standing completely straight up. Last year, I struck out a lot because I had no balance in my swing. It was all just swinging at everything. So I really got back to being balanced and set up right and it really has cut down on my strikeouts. If you strike out less, you're putting the ball in play all the time and that's what I've been trying to do."

 

Moss's breakout season is leaving an impression on the Boston brass as well.

 

"We knew he was a good hitter coming out of high school, but up to this point he's exceeded expectations," farm director Ben Cherington said. "He's refined his overall approach at the plate and really worked hard to become a better hitter. He's got a better understanding of the game now. He's hitting close to .360--but it's a hard .360."

 

Cherington also calls Moss a "high-energy" guy--a label that has proved to be a double-edged sword. He leaves everything on the field--no matter what happened the day before.

 

"I've always been a loud mouth, which has been a problem for me too," Moss said. "When we lose or if I go 0-for-4 and the next day I come back all happy-go-lucky, people took it the wrong way like I wasn't taking it seriously. But it's not me not taking it seriously; it's me forgetting about it. It's like it's a new day and who cares? I was 3-for-5 yesterday but who cares? That doesn't mean anything about today.

 

"That's just the way I go--I don't care about anything that happened yesterday. If you carry it into the next day, you're going to be pissed off the whole day. Who needs to be around some guy like that?"

 

So far this season, everything has fallen into place for the lefthanded-hitting Moss. On top of the staggering numbers, he appeared in his first all-star game and took home MVP honors. He doubled in the go-ahead run in the fifth and was the only player to have two hits in the game.

 

"That was something that I really didn't expect to get," Moss said, laughing. "I was just out there and swinging at everything just because I was having so much fun and I was totally caught up in the moment. I didn't really hit anything hard there. I just found some hits and took home the MVP, so that was really nice."

 

The all-star experience was also a breeding ground for new friendships and catching up with some old ones.

 

"That was the best experience I've ever had in baseball--by far," Moss said. "It was amazing. I got to hang out with a couple guys I was already friends with in Ian Bladergroen and Ryan Harvey. They're just really great guys. And I got to meet Delmon (Young). I never really talked to Delmon before and he's a great guy. It was neat to see what some of those guys are like. It was definitely the best time ever."

 

No matter how hard of a .360 Moss is hitting right now, he was happy to see Capital City righthander Yusmeiro Petit get called up to high Class A St. Lucie--tagging him as the toughest pitcher he faced this season.

 

"I just can't hit him," Moss said. "No question about it--he was the toughest. I'm 1-for-6 off him with five strikeouts. He's good--he really is good. You just can't pick the ball up off him."

 

Moss used to say that about a lot of pitchers. That hasn't been the case in 2004.

[CrespoBlows]

Moss went 1-3 tonight with 2 walks and a strikeout. Augusta lost 4-1 against Ashville.

 

Season Line: .361/.427/.543 38/50 (BB/K) 24 XBH 9 HR's 79 RBI 17 SB

 

thanks for the format Zenny

[Zenny]

Originally posted by CrespoBlows@Jul 9 2004, 11:10 PM

thanks for the format Zenny

No prob, I like to keep you folks updated everyday so you know what's going on without having to look it up.

[CrespoBlows]

Moss is average has fallen a point since I last posted but he now has 10 HR's

 

Season Line .360/.430/.549 42/57 (BB/K) 30 XBH 10 HR's 18 SB

[CrespoBlows]

Moss hit his 11th Homerun of the year as Augusta won the game in 10 innings.

[Zenny]

In posted this on NetSports in its own thread earlier today and it should go here as well.

 

The Official "Put Moss on the Fast-Track" Thread

The Red Sox just traded OF prospect Matt Murton today, one of the three Killer M's. The second of the three Killer M's, David Murphy, has only been killing Red Sox fans with his inability to hit and his nagging injuries. That leaves one true Killer M left: 20 year-old Brandon Moss.

 

For Low-A Augusta, Moss has been rediculously good, showing excellent plate discipline, possessing fantastic power for a 20 year-old in a pitcher's league, stealing about 20 bases, displaying great range and a cannon arm and leading the league in BA and RBI for much of the year. It cannot be a fluke thing, because 400 AB's are more than enough of a sample size.

 

With Murton gone, Moss should get the promotion to High-A Augusta to play CF and move David Murphy back to RF and Chris Durbin (who really isn't going to be much) over to LF. You may be saying, why move Moss to CF? You'll see in a moment.

 

Then, Moss should start 2005 in Portland. Why give him such a big jump all the way to AA after only a month at high-A the previous season? I don't see that much of a difference between low-A and high-A, especially the Sally league and FSL. Both are very good pitcher's leagues with raw Dominican talent or polished college pitchers. Both leagues have the same quantity of both are there's nothing huge to warrant holding Moss back in high-A for another season.

 

In the Eastern League, especially in Portland, there are very small ballparks and crappy conditions for pitchers to throw in. It is a notorious hitters' league. This will only help Moss and I truly believe that he will excel. He should then be moved to AAA Pawtucket mid-way through the '05 season, say late June or early July. I also believe he will excel here. He does not have strikeout issues, so plate discipline and making contact will never be an issue like with Shoppach and he will be able to adjust to AAA being as gifted as he is.

 

In 2006, Brandon Moss should be this team's starting CF. Johnny Damon's contract will be up and will not likely be the best leadoff hitter in the game anymore. We will need the finances as well to go to re-signing David Ortiz and the pitching staff. Brandon Moss will only make $300,000 dollars.

 

Brandon Moss is a fantastic 5-tool player and he should be the future of this franchise and 2006's starting CF.

[CrespoBlows]

Do you want to update this guy now, Zenny? You know more about the farm system then anyone on this site.

[Zenny]

Originally posted by CrespoBlows@Aug 2 2004, 12:22 PM

Do you want to update this guy now, Zenny? You know more about the farm system then anyone on this site.

If you want to keep doing updates, go right ahead. I post in every thread with info, I'm not trying to steal this thread.

[CrespoBlows]

I like reading your Shoppach updates, and seeing that your other prospect left, you could have this one.

[CrespoBlows]

Moss was named SAL Player of the Month again. Why hasn't he been called up?

[Zenny]

He hit two homeruns and walked last night. I think he'll start next season in Portland and skip Sarasota.

 

As far as not being called up, I think they want to keep him comfortable in Georgia near his family for now. Why? Who the hell knows. He'll likely at least finish 2005 in Portland.

[CrespoBlows]

Moss had an 0fer tonight, as Augusta lost 3-1.

[CrespoBlows]

What's Moss' arm strength, is it better than Damon who throws like a woman? God damn anyone see that throw last night, he couldn't even reach the pitcher's mound!

[Zenny]

Originally posted by CrespoBlows@Aug 7 2004, 10:24 AM

What's Moss' arm strength, is it better than Damon who throws like a woman? God damn anyone see that throw last night, he couldn't even reach the pitcher's mound!

He's got a pretty damn good arm, hence him being in RF as a converted middle infielder. He's got both strength and accuracy in it and it's probably comparable to Kapler's.

[Zenny]

Moss finally got promoted to Sarasota and will play tonight's game there. He still has a good shot to be on Portland's 2005 Opening Day roster, but he should've been in Sarasota sooner to give us a bigger sample size.

[Zenny]

Moss is showing off plate discipline and average in his high-A debut, going 2-3 with a walk and run. Great to see that he's making contact and drawing a walk if necessary. If he keeps it up, he should definitely be in Portland next season.

[Zenny]

Moss went 2-4, hit a homerun and struck out yesterday.

[Zenny1]

I really like this kid Moss. Great power.

[CrespoBlows]

Moss contuined to tear up Single A pitching going 3-5 with a homerun.

[Zenny]

Originally posted by CrespoBlows@Aug 19 2004, 06:41 AM

Moss contuined to tear up Single A pitching going 3-5 with a homerun.

He really should start next season in Portland. No question.

[CrespoBlows]

next season? He should be there this season. I love this kid, he's f***ing awesome. He needs to be there by 2006 (Boston)

[Zenny]

3-7 with 2 BB's in two games today. I love this kid. At absolute worst, he's Trot Nixon (which is friggin' fantastic).

[Zenny1]

He seems to be on the fast track to the majors. He his excelling at all levels so far.

[Zenny]

3-4 with a 2B and BB today. He's shown fantastic plate discipline (4.0 BB/K), which means the 1.333 OPS isn't a sample size thing and he can really hit this league. It'll be a crime if he doesn't start next season in Portland and make it to Pawtucket mid-way through the year. This kid is an absolute stud.

[Zenny1]

Zen, I know you are a baseball expert so I have to ask, what type of numbers do you think he'll put up as a pro? Nixon like?

[Zenny]

Originally posted by Zenny1@Aug 22 2004, 11:45 AM

Zen, I know you are a baseball expert so I have to ask, what type of numbers do you think he'll put up as a pro? Nixon like?

He's still really young, so it's tough to predict at this point, but he honestly could be anywhere from Trot Nixon to Jim Edmonds. That also hinges on whether he moves to CF and develops there or not.

[Zenny]

Moss had a lot of trouble adjusting to AA pitching for a while, but he's figured it out and has been on fire his last few games. His line doesn't look very good at .268/.339/.431, but he's been crushing the ball since a six game rainout. He was hitting .220 before that stretch.

 

Here's the game by game from May 27th to June 2:

 

May 27th- 1-2, HR, BB

May 28th- 0-3, BB

May 29th (1st game)- 3-4, HR

May 29th (2nd game)- 2-4, 2 K

May 30th- 3-5, 2B, BB, K

May 31st- 2-5, HR, K

June 1- 2-3

June 2- 1-4, 2B, 2 K

 

That's 14 for 30. The line: .467/.515/.833/1.348; 2 2B, 3 HR; 3/6 BB/K. I think he's figuring it out.

 

EDIT- Bad math.