Gabriel Moreno Has Been Vital to Diamondbacks Success

It's become noticed that when Moreno plays, the Diamondbacks often win, but is that true?

It's safe to say that the Arizona Diamondbacks wouldn't be having near the amount of success they are having without Moreno. Moreno has been the stabilizing force behind the plate that General Manager Mike Hazen envisioned he would be when he traded Daulton Varsho for him. Gabriel Moreno has been leading this pitching staff and team to new heights, especially in the second half of the season with his glove, brain, and bat. It was noticed on social media that when Moreno went down with an injury, the team slumped badly. Once he came back, the team started to win once again. Is that true? That's what is being examined below.

Moreno has played in 103 games thus far entering Friday, the 22nd. He's hit .292/.342/.419/.761 with an OPS+ of 107. He has 17 doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 46 RBI, six stolen bases, 25 walks, and 70 strikeouts. Baseball-Reference gives him a WAR of 4.1 while FanGraphs gives him a WAR of 1.7. Much of his WAR comes from his elite defense. According to BBREF, his 3.0 defensive WAR leads all MLB players. Jack Sommers took an in-depth look at how deserving Moreno is of a Gold Glove this year. In the 23 days since the article, his defense has stayed just as elite as the stats in the article mention. Beyond his glove, his arm has been just as great. He leads the MLB by a hefty margin in thrown-out runners or caught stealing. 

Regardless of how elite his defense and pitch-calling have been, his bat has been just as valuable of late. From Opening Day to when he went on the injured list on July 23rd, Moreno was hitting .270/.316/.360/.676 with 17 runs, 60 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs, 28 RBI, 16 walks, and 54 strikeouts. That's a fine season for a 23-year-old catcher who was adjusting to a new team, pitching staff, and league.

He returned from the left shoulder inflammation on August 13th. He missed 19 games. Since returning, he's been a completely different hitter. He's been better than the D-backs or anyone ever expected. In the 29 games since then, he has hit .344/.404/.559/.963 with 14 runs, 32 hits, six doubles, a triple, four home runs, 18 RBI, 9 walks, 16 strikeouts, and two stolen bases. He's provided a ton of offense in the lower third of the lineup, enabling them to deepen their lineup and score more runs. When the bottom third can get on base for the top of the lineup, it's often that the team will score more runs. Moreno is doing that in spades.

His clutch hitting has led to the team winning a lot more. However, when Moreno has played, the team usually wins. In the first half of Moreno's season, pre-injury, he played in 74 games. The team went 39-35 in those games. Overall, with him on the roster, the team was 54-45 with him active. They were holding the second Wild Card spot ahead of the Phillies, Giants, Marlins, and Cubs. Once he went on the IL on July 23rd, the team went 4-14. Is that a coincidence? Perhaps, but it's definitely worth noting considering how the team has done since. When he returned, the team was 58-59. They were three games out of a Wild Card spot behind the Reds and Marlins.

Since he came back, he's played in 29 games, and in those 29 games, the team has gone 19-10. Overall, the team has gone 23-13. This streak of play has gotten them to the second wild-card spot once again. They hold a 1.5-game lead on Chicago for the second spot.  So, is there a reason behind it as to why the team does so much better with Moreno on the roster or playing?

There might be a team roster like personality-wise or his pitch-calling. However, he also tends to hit really well in wins. In the 58 wins that Moreno has been a part of, he's hit .339/.395/.469/.863 with 11 doubles, four home runs, a triple, 34 RBI, six stolen bases, 19 walks, and 40 strikeouts. Meanwhile, in the 45 losses he's been a part of, he's hit just .220/.254/.342/.595 with six doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, six walks, and 30 strikeouts. So, when Moreno gets at least a hit and walk, a couple of hits, or a couple of walks, the team often wins. Also, it's important to point out that when Moreno starts, the team is 54-32. That could tie into his defense and pitch-calling ability while serving as a grounding force for the pitchers.

Perhaps, that is why Manager Torey Lovullo is playing him every day lately. The team knows how crucial he is to the D-backs success. In September, he has played in 15 of the team's 19 games. Three of those were missed due to the birth of his child. So, expect to see Gabriel Moreno catching every day through the end of the season. The Arizona Diamondbacks need every win they can get right now as they take on the Yankees, White Sox, and Astros. We will see what happens, but one thing is for sure: The Diamondbacks would not be where they are without Gabriel Moreno at Catcher. Good thing he's with the club for the next five or more years. The Arizona Diamondbacks finally have a Gold Glove-caliber and strong-hitting franchise catcher for the first time with Hazen and Lovullo in charge.