Matt Moore is one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball. He’s been ranked as the best prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Keith Law, and every other top prospect analyst lists him within the top three. After signing an extension with the Rays this off-season, it’s likely that he starts the season in the rotation as the #4 or #5 starter.
Most young pitchers — especially young fireballers — are broken into the majors on a strict innings limit, so there have been some concerns that Moore would be treated with kid gloves this season. But according to Rays GM Andrew Friedman, that’s not the case:
Friedman said rookie LHP Matt Moore’s innings will be watched but don’t have to be limited because he’s been “built up in a pretty systematic way” in the minors. (Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times)
The Rays do a good job bringing up their young prospects slowly, continuously building their workload through the minors, so this doesn’t come as a huge surprise. But it’s still certainly exciting to hear, and it means Moore could get a full 180-200 innings workload this season.
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