Believe the Hype Around Gabriel Moreno's 'Elite' Arm
Just 10 pitches into Gabriel Moreno’s big league career, they decided to test him.
Tigers outfielder Victor Reyes was off on the pitch, darting to second base as Moreno caught a splitter and sizzled the ball back past the mound in 1.83 seconds. The throw beat Reyes by five or six feet—dead on arrival—but a collision with Bo Bichette’s glove knocked the ball loose and earned Reyes the bag.
“Good throw,” Tigers DH Miguel Cabrera told Moreno from the on-deck circle.
The play was later ruled an error on Bichette, so Moreno was awarded the first caught-stealing of his big-league career. The 1.83 second pop time (the length of time it takes to throw from home to second base) ranks among the best in baseball, with only Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto averaging quicker.
Moreno will have to prove his game-calling and receiving are prepared for The Show, but there's no question his arm is big-league ready. He caught 50% of attempted stealers at the Triple A level and Toronto's bench coach John Schneider called his arm elite. The cannon attached to Moreno's right shoulder hasn't always been there, but now it's arguably his strongest tool.
"I mean, you see his arm when he throws to second," starter Kevin Gausman said. "It's just, I mean, I can hear it when he goes by, so that's pretty cool."
Schneider, a former catcher, first saw Moreno work behind the plate a few years ago in Spring Training. By then, the arm was already a near-complete product, he said, and all the former infielder needed was just more reps at catcher. Moreno’s experience as a second baseman and shortstop helps his transfers, throws, and footwork at catcher, Schneider said, and natural athleticism takes care of the rest.
“It’s like an infielder’s transfer with an outfielder’s arm strength, that’s kind of the combo,” Schneider said. “Usually it’s kind of one or the other—arm strength or exchange—but he has both.”
Moreno’s gotten his pop times down into the 1.7s in Triple A, Schneider said, but he normally sits below 1.9—a great place to be. Only two catchers in baseball (minimum five attempts) currently sit below a 1.9-second average pop in the big leagues.
Before he signed with the Jays and converted to catcher in 2016, Moreno's arm was solid, but nothing like it is today, he told Inside the Blue Jays. The 22-year-old feels his arm has gotten strong every year, with workouts in the gym and pre-game training, like long toss.
Moreno arrived outside the Blue Jays bullpen on Tuesday, ahead of his home debut, about 40 minutes before first pitch. Working with bullpen catcher Luis Hurtado, the pair started about 20 feet apart, hucking the ball back and forth and working up to about half the length of the Rogers Centre outfield.
Moreno then moved back toward Hurtado, setting up on one knee and gunning a few full-effort tosses back. Finally, as Moreno neared the bullpen catcher, the pair rapid-fire a few throws back and forth before ending the warmup with fist bumps.
A few minutes after the pre-game ritual, another ill-advised baserunner tried to test Moreno. Jorge Mateo, who had successfully stolen 14 of 16 bases entering Tuesday, got a good jump on Yusei Kikuchi's pitch. The speedy Mateo was no problem for Moreno, though, who beat him to the base with a throw, just like Reyes the few days prior.
Beware the Bear 🐻
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 14, 2022
DON'T run on Gabby! pic.twitter.com/S0MOZJFJw0
Despite Moreno’s minor-league caught stealing success and elite early pop times, teams are likely to keep testing him—it’s what they do to most young catchers. Seven runners tried to steal on Alejandro Kirk in his first 10 games and 14 ran on Danny Jansen in his first 10. They'll probably learn pretty fast not to run on the new Toronto backstop, but until then, Moreno and the Blue Jays will welcome the unwise attempts.
"I was hoping maybe one of those guys have tried to steal," Ross Stripling said. "And I could watch [Moreno] pop a 1.8 and throw somebody out."
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon