San Francisco Giants 2017 Player Review: Starting Pitchers
LHP. San Francisco Giants. MATT MOORE. D.
Record: 6-15
ERA: 5.52
IP: 174.1
GS: 31
Don’t let that record fool you, it was worse than that. He had flashes of brilliance. Yet, he also had long stretches of time that made you want the Giants to not pick up his option for 2018. They did pick it up, and 2018 will be another year of Moore roulette.
Which Moore shall we get next year? The one that made you want to go do something more fun, like fill out your taxes? Or perhaps we’ll get Clutch Moore. If you recall, Clutch Moore was the guy who took the mound in Game 4 of the 2016 NLDS and pitched 8 innings of 2 run ball. That was, until the bullpen had a collective aneurysm to wipe that sweet memory from our brains.
We all want to see more of Clutch Moore. I saw him out there a few times this year. Don’t fool yourself, Matt Moore is still capable of slipping back into his alter ego. He can still be a good pitcher, and I really don’t think he’s far off.
If Dave Righetti can work some of his sweet sweet magic on him, he’ll be donning that clutch cape much more in 2018.
Moore was tied for most HR/9 among Giants with Bumgarner, at 1.4. He gave up the most walks on the team with 67. Plus, his K/9 was down to 7.6, from 9.1 in 2016 (smaller sample size). That’s not ideal. If he can turn those numbers around, I’m hopeful that 2018 could be a resurgence year for Moore.
I hate to be a tough grader, but I really think a D is fair. It’s not as if he wasn’t trying out there. I’m pretty sure he studied, but he just seemed to blank on the answers when he took the mound.
We all know how much unrealized potential he has. I say 2018 is a good year for him to realize it.